Restricted Affection
by RhodesyTash
Summary: Lucy never had an easy life, but when she moves to Greenock, she hopes everything will start to smooth out. However, nothing is ever smooth for a Waterloo Road student. Lucy finds herself breaking the law, falling in love, lying to everyone she knows and hiding a huge secret. All it takes is for her to tell the truth and someone else's life will be ruined, but she won't risk that.
1. Chapter 1

**I originally posted this on Wattpad... so now I want to post it on here and make a few changes as I do so. Please leave reviews as I don't see the point in continuing writing on this site if no one's reading? Thanks!**

* * *

It was tough, moving houses, school, losing family members.. In fact, I'd done it all before, but not like this. My Mother was having huge difficulties with my younger brother, and well, she just couldn't take it any more .. My brother was sent to live with my Dad, and seeings as he'd disowned me in the past, I went to live with my Nan in Scotland.

Greenock seemed like a nice place, but I didn't know anyone, and I was petrified that people would hate me, I mean England and Scotland are two different countries, and they might do things differently. I'd never been an outkast at any of my previous schools, yet if things were that different here, I'd be thought of as weird and unusual. I guess hoping for the best is all I can do until the make or break moment of starting Waterloo Road.

That moment came quicker than expected. The week I had to settle in passed in a flash! I woke up with my pounding headache and a sickly feeling in my stomach, but I knew it was nerves and nothing that a paracetamol couldn't easily sort out. I straightened my long brown hair and backcombed it slightly, then applied a layer of make up, before heading to the school that was two minutes up the hill. As I approached the gate, my hands clammy, I saw that people were looking at me. I was used to that when starting a new school, so I managed to stay calm, knowing that they weren't judging me yet.

Eventually, I found my way to reception and was greeted by Mr Byrne, the head teacher. He told me the usual, what Waterloo Road aim to do, gave me a time table and a map, then showed me to my form room.

* * *

My first few weeks passed quickly and I settled in well, becoming close to Imogen, Connor and Kevin. They had all welcomed me with open arms and Kevin and I had bonded over moving lots of times and starting new schools.. We actually had quite a bit in common. I was happy for him that he'd finally settled in with Chalky, and I hoped settling in with my nan would go as well as it had for him.

"Luce!" Kevin's voice dragged me out of my thoughts. I glanced up at him, a clueless look on my face. "Did you hear any of that?"

I shook my head, "I'm sorry, Kev, I was in my own world!" I smiled at him.

He rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Its alright, it wasn't important anyway!"

"Sure?"

"Yeah I'm sure!" He smiled at me, then picked up his bag and stood up. "I'm going to the loo, see you next lesson!"

"Okay!" I watched him leave the library, then sat back and checked my phone. I had a text from my old friend Sarah, that I'd met a few years ago in Manchester.

'Hiya babe, why didn't you say that you'd started at Waterloo Road? My Uncle works there! xxxx'

I raised an eyebrow at the message, then asked her who her uncle is. I picked up my bag and

got to my feet, then checked my phone again.

'Tom Clarkson babe xxxx'

I blinked for second then wanted to punch myself in the face for being so stupid, of course it would've been Mr Clarkson, he had the same last name as her! I quickly sent a reply then headed off to my next lesson.

* * *

"So you know Mr Clarkson's niece?" Imogen asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, she's so lovely.. I can't believe I couldn't patch up the pieces though?"

"Well you wasn't to know that they were related, lots of people have the same last name?"

"Uh, girls, stop talking please." Miss Diamond's voice interrupted us.

"Sorry." Imogen mumbled then looked down at her sheet. I did the same, then minutes later we were interrupted again by a knock at the door.

"Miss Diamond, would it be okay to borrow Lucy for a second?" Mr Clarkson's voice filled the silent classroom. I looked up at the two teachers.

"Be my guest!" Miss Diamond turned to look at me. I stood up and walked to the front of the room, then followed Mr Clarkson into the corridor.

"Miss Sigler," he greeted me and smiled. "you've surprised me. You came here with the English Lit grade D, yet you're most definitely working at a B in lessons... Do you find work here easier?"

"I don't know... It feels like I'm working exactly the same.." I replied.

He chuckled. "You're doing extremely well, in fact I want to put you in for a higher paper! That is of course, if you want to do it?"

"I'm not too sure... What if I find it hard?"

"We'll have time in English to prepare you, and I can even do after school one-to-one sessions with you, if you'd like to try out the higher paper." he suggested.

I hesitated for a second. "Fine, if I'm working as well as you say then I should find it easy." I smiled.

"Good." he smiled back at me. "I'll come and find you tomorrow once I've had a chance to talk to Mr Byrne."

"Okay."

"Right, go on then, back to class."

I turned my back to him and walked towards the door, then paused. "Oh, sir?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have a niece called Sophie?"

"I do, why?"

"I thought so, I met her at one of my old schools. You should get her to come up here one weekend.. I miss her."

"Maybe." he chuckled, then walked away. I smiled to myself then went back into the classroom.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, so in one of the reviews someone pointed out that I got Clarkson's niece's name wrong/ changed it haha. It is Sarah, and for some reason I wrote Sophie the second time? So yeah.. Sorry about that haha! Its Sarah Clarkson. **

**Don't forget to leave a review! x**

* * *

"Lucy, I need you to get the shopping for me later." My Nan informed me before breaking into another coughing fit.

"Okay. I'll come and get the money after school!" I told her. I did feel bad that she had a chest infection and she could barely walk around without losing her breath as it was already. However, I hated getting stuck with the shopping. It was a long way to carry loads of heavy bags, and to be fair, we didn't have the money for me to get a taxi.

"Thank you!" my Nan spluttered between coughs. I poured her a glass of water, then headed to school, arriving two minutes before the bell.

I headed towards my form room, but paused when I heard my name.

"Lucy!" Mr Clarkson called, I twisted to face him. "I spoke to Mr Byrne and he agreed with the after school sessions. I don't know about you, but I want to get stuck in, are you available tonight?"

I sighed. "Sorry sir, I'm busy after school.."

"Oh, what about tomorrow?"

"Sounds good."

He smiled. "Great. My room tomorrow, straight after school."

"Okay!"

"See you later!"

"Bye!" I continued walking to my form room. Mr Clarkson was so helpful, he's going to help me out a lot with my work. He has so many other things to worry about, like the Barry's, but he's going to still help me out.. Not a lot of teachers are that kind and devoted.

* * *

The day passed quickly, and I found myself in the supermarket just an hour after school started. I had no idea where I was going in here and I felt a bit silly and well, anxious, just looking around for it all. The list that Nan had given me made it even more confusing, I didn't know whether she liked a particular brand or not, but I just got the cheapest, praying that she wouldn't have a problem.

It took a while to carry the ten bags across town, and my arms were in so much pain, I even felt like my wrists were going to snap, yet I continued going.. Knowing that I only had the huge hill left to climb. I managed to get half way up the hill before I straightened out my arm a bit to get the bag to slide down, and then the worst possible thing happened. My heart pounded as I heard the plastic bag tear and the tin cans hit the floor. I quickly placed the shopping down then ran back down the hill, trying to catch the cans that were rolling much quicker than my legs were moving. I felt the panicked lump rise in my throat and tried to blink back the tears that were starting to sting in my eyes. And then I heard that familiar chuckle, and paused.

"You always find yourself in a muddle, Miss Sigler." Mr Clarkson was behind me. I didn't look at him, I just tried to stay calm and stop the tears rolling down my face. "Would you like some help?"

I took a deep breath before talking. "There's no way I'll be able to get those beans now.. They'll get run over or something." I mumbled, watching the tins roll closer to the road.

"Go and get your bags. I'll get the tins." he told me. I did as he told me, keeping my head down, trying to clear my eyes. I waited for him, then saw him climbing up the hill, a grin on his face. "There we go, all six tins, none run over or broken."

"Thank you." I searched for a bag for them to go in.

"Have you been crying?"

I didn't answer and took the tins from his arms.

"Why were you crying, Lucy?" he questioned.

I shrugged. "I just panicked, I thought people would see me and judge me. It was bad enough in the supermarket."

"What do you mean? You were just shopping.."

"It doesn't matter." I took the last tin of beans from him and slipped it in the bag.

"Well it does matter, Lucy. It's not a normal thing to worry that people are judging you for just shopping." he said. "Do you have anxiety?"

"Yes. But it's nothing for you to worry about." I informed him, then picked up my bags.

He sighed, but appeared to give up on the anxiety thing. "Do you want a lift home? My car is just inside the school gate." he looked up at the school gate, just a few metres away.

"Um.. No i'll be fine. My house is just round the corner."

"Good, that's even less of a distance to drive you then." he said, clearly not listening to my rejection. He took a few of the bags from me, then walked towards the school. I followed him, not really having any other option.

I put my shopping in the boot, then climbed in the small green car.

"What way?" he asked.

"To the top of the hill, right, then the second left. Number 11."

He nodded, then drove where I told him to. "You know, Lucy, you can do things to deal with anxiety."

"I appreciate that you're trying to help, Mr Clarkson, but it's all sorted. My antidepressants help."

"You have depression too?"

"Yeah.." I mumbled. There goes the whole no one will find out thing, well done Lucy!

"How come you haven't told the school?"

"No one needs to know. I can cope. This is my first bad day since I've lived here.. No one needs to worry about my problems when there are things going on that are a lot worse."

"Your problems matter just as much as anyone else's, Lucy. If ever you need to talk, there's pastoral care, or you can come to me." he glanced at me and smiled.

"Thank you, but I'm fine. I can deal with myself."

The car pulled to a stop and I unplugged my seatbelt.

"I'll help you carry it all in." he said, and we both climbed out of the car. We grabbed the bags then knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I scrambles through my coat pocket to find my key then unlocked the door.

"Nan?" I called out as soon as the door flew open. There was no answer. "Nan?!"

I carried the bags into the kitchen, followed by Mr Clarkson, then told him to stay where he was and walked through the house into the living room, looking for Nan. She shouldn't have gone out anywhere... She didn't have the strength at the moment.

I found her in the chair, looking pale and fragile, gasping for air.

"Nan, are you okay?" she didn't answer. She couldn't find the air to speak. I'd never seen her like this before, it was scary. Her face was slowly going red, like her body was starved of oxygen and her eyes started to droop. That was when I started to panic. "Mr Clarkson!" I called, before repeating myself but much louder and more urgent.

He rushed into the room, obviously hearing the urgency in my voice.

"Help, please! She can't breathe! She's going purple, help her!" I cried. He rushed over, took one look at her, then whipped out his mobile.

"I'm calling an ambulance." he told me.

I grabbed Nan's hand and tried to calm myself. I could feel tears filling my eyes again. "Nan stay awake, please! The paramedics are going to come and help you!" I felt Mr Clarkson kneel down beside me. "She has a breathing thing that they said to put on her!" I jumped to my feet and searched the box next to Nan's chair. After a few seconds I yanked it out and put it on her. I tried hard to stay calm, but the thoughts rushed around my head, what if she really couldn't breathe and died.. I'd probably get put in a foster home. I'd have to move again.

* * *

Less than an hour later, I was sat in the waiting room at the hospital whilst they helped get Nan breathing properly. Mr Clarkson had followed the ambulance in his car, figuring that we'd probably need a lift home, and was sat beside me silently. He'd tried to reassure me, but I pretty much bit his head off. If I was him i'd have told myself to get stuffed and have left, but he seemed determined to help.

"Miss Sigler?" The doctors voice made me snap my head up.

"Is she okay?!"

"She's breathing better, but it's not entirely regular. She'll need to be here for the next few days."

"What?! She can't stay for a few days, I need her at home!" I cried.

"Lucy.." Mr Clarkson placed his hand on my shoulder. "She needs to stay to get better."

"I can't stay home on my own.. I'm hopeless." I mumbled.

Mr Clarkson didn't say anything else to me. "Can we go and see her?" he asked.

"Yes, but visiting time finishes in fifteen minutes." the nurse informed him.

"Okay, thank you." Mr Clarkson helped me to my feet, then took me in to see Nan. She still looked so fragile.. It wasn't like her. It was horrible to see.

"Oh Nan.. What are we going to do with you?" I mumbled, as I sat down on the edge of her bed.

"I'm sorry, Luce." she breathed, her voice wispy.

"Mrs Sigler, I'm Tom Clarkson, deputy head of Waterloo Road." he smiled at Nan. "I was wondering, if it's okay with you, and if Lucy wants to of course, if whilst you're in here, Lucy would be able to stay with me. My son's room is free now that he's in university, and I thought it would be nice for Lucy to have someone taking care of her, and also for you to not have to worry about what she's doing." He said.

I blinked for a second, then shrugged. I suppose staying with Mr Clarkson would make me feel safe.

"Thank you, Tom." Nan whispered, then looked at me, wanting my approval.

I nodded. "You're too kind, sir."

* * *

Half an hour later, I found myself walking through Mr Clarkson's front door. It was strange. He'd gone from being my teacher, to my carer in less than a day.

"Right, Lucy, you're not allowed to call me Mr Clarkson anymore unless we're at school."

"Okay.. Tom."

He flicked the light switch and the upstairs light came on. "I'll show you the room you'll be staying in."

I followed him up the stairs and into an average sized bedroom with cream walls and brown curtains. The bed was a double, with a brown duvet and cream pillows.

"Is this your son's room?" I asked.

"Yes."

"It's rather clean for a teenage boy's room..."

Tom chuckled. "Josh was always fairly clean. He liked to help me out a lot."

"Oh."

"So eh, make yourself at home and I'll order us some dinner. Do you like pizza?"

"Yeah."

"Any particular one you want?"

"No.. Any will do." I sat down on the bed.

"Alright." Tom smiled, then left the room. I looked around and took my blazer off. It was kind of strange being here, and very unfamiliar.


	3. Chapter 3

**Please don't forget to review. I know I sound a bit desperate, but that's not what I'm aiming for. I just want to know any of your idea's and what you think I could improve on, etc. Thanks! x**

* * *

We pulled into the school car park the next morning and I said goodbye to Tom, then climbed out of the car.

"Come to my office at three. We're still working on English, and no, we can't do it at home." Tom told me as he locked the car.

"Okay!" I smiled at him then walked around to the front entrance of the school.

"Lucy!" I heard Imogen's voice and twisted my head. She was a few metres behind me, walking hand-in-hand with Connor.

"Hey!" I smiled at them both.

"Did you just get out of Mr Clarkson's car?" Connor questioned.

"Yes."

"What? Why?" Imogen asked.

"My Nan's ill and uh, Mr Clarkson helped us out.. He offered to take care of me for a few weeks, until Nan's better."

"Wow, that must be weird.." Imogen mumbled.

"You'll have to behave yourself now you've got a guardian in school!" Connor joked.

"He's not my guardian. I'm just like a lodger in his son's room... without paying." We climbed up the steps and through the door.

Imogen laughed. "Can he even punish you for doing something wrong?"

"No. He's not my Dad."

"But he could as your teacher, during school time." Connor said.

"He won't. I'm a good girl." I paused as Imogen kissed Connor goodbye, then we headed to our form room.

"So, is his house big?" Imogen asked.

"It's quite big, rather big for someone that lives by himself."

"Yeah, but when he moved up here he had Josh living there too."

"I suppose so. He has such a nice TV, it's like fifty inch! Better than my tiny box at home!"

Imogen smiled. "Do you think he'd mind if I came over just to gawk at the TV?"

I giggled. "I think he'd be a little worried if you came and stared at his TV for a few hours.."

"Well, of course, but if we put a movie on he wouldn't notice!?"

I shook my head and giggled again. "Maybe." I mumbled. We entered the room and sat down at our table.

"So, anything else interesting to update me on?"

* * *

The day dragged, right up until lunch time. We'd just finished eating and was heading towards the sixth form area to see a small gathering of teenagers shouting, "No. It was me!"

I glanced at one of the girls, then asked, "What's going on?"

"Miss Diamond apparently hit Barry Barry, but now everyone else is saying they did it!"

"Good. The nasty piece of work has finally gotten what he deserves!" I said.

"Come on everyone! Clear out now! Barry, to the cooler." Mr Byrne's voice rose up and everyone started to leave. Imogen, Connor, Kevin and I continued to the sixth form area.

"As if she slapped him!" Imogen said.

"He must have really wound her up.." Kevin mumbled, obviously imagining all the things he could've done.

"I'm glad the creep's been put in his place!" I stated.

"Hm, but we all know that Diamond will get in trouble for it!" Connor shook his head.

Imogen's mouth popped open. "Do you think she'll get fired?"

"More than likely... It's one of the golden rules not to man handle a pupil!" Connor told us.

"Well she can man handle me any day!" Kevin joked.

I shook my head. "You're such a freak Kev, that'd just be wrong!"

Connor laughed and Imogen piped up, "It's not like it's never happened before. I heard that a teacher got arrested for being with a pupil when Waterloo road was in Rochdale!"

"I heard that too!" Connor agreed.

Kevin's facial expression showed that he wanted to know more. "Luce! You have to ask Mr Clarkson!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Or you could ask Chalky?"

"Yeah but Clarkson's worked there longer!"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, I'll ask him tonight."

"Thanks!" Kev grinned at me, then pushed the door open. We all walked in to the practically empty sixth form lounge and sat down.

* * *

We went to visit Nan after we'd done some English work, and Tom informed me that Mrs Diamond had resigned. I felt bad for her, Barry was such a nuisance, and she'd done the thing that everyone had been dying to do since the moment he arrived. However, that couldn't change the fact that she would no longer be able to teach, and there was no way that we could turn back time.. nothing else could be done.

Nan hadn't really improved since yesterday, and was still hooked up to machines that kept her breathing. It wasn't nice to see her so fragile, but I was glad that she was here in hospital being looked after all the time. There was no way of her improving without having all this care. She seemed to enjoy being here too. She wouldn't admit it but I knew she was sneakily eyeing up the doctor that came in every now and again, and she said the dinners weren't too bad either. Knowing that she was comfortable staying at the hospital made me feel a bit at ease, but I'd be completely calm when she was home with me.

We left at half seven. I gave Nan a big hug, then ordered for her to keep her phone on so I could message her if I needed to, then followed Tom out the the car. We climbed in and plugged our seatbelts in.

"So, McDonald's for dinner? Seeings as it's on the way back." Tom asked, as the car jolted to a start.

"You're going to make me so fat!" I joked. "Pizza yesterday, McDonald's tonight!"

"I promise that tomorrow night I'll cook us something with vegetables!"

"And that's your one healthy meal a month, right?" I teased.

"Oi! Watch it you, or I won't feed you at all!" He grinned.

I giggled. "Yes sir!"

"Think I fancy a big mac.." He mumbled.

"I want twenty McChicken nuggets."

He glanced at me and raised an eyebrow. "And you complain about getting fat?"

I shrugged. "I'll work it off tomorrow in PE."

"Then come home to a healthy dinner.." He chuckled.

"Exactly!"

The car pulled into the drive through and Tom ordered our meals, then passed them to me when they were given to him. He then drove around to a parking space. We sorted our meals out, then sat back and ate them, making casual chat as we did so.

"Oh, I have something to ask." I said.

"Go on."

"Well, Imogen said something earlier, and then Kevin got a bit nosey and told me to ask you..."

"What do you want to know?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Apparently, a teacher got arrested in Rochdale for being with a student? It was at Waterloo road wasn't it?"

Tom blinked. "Wow, this is going back years!" He mumbled. "The teacher was Cesca Montoya, the student was Jonah Kirby.. They'd been seeing each other for a few months and she ended up pregnant. They'd almost got away with it, but then everyone figured it out and she got put in jail for it. Jonah's Dad withdrew him and his sister from Waterloo Road and none of us have heard anything since."

I nodded. "Well, Waterloo Road has had some interesting times. I'll be sure to tell Kevin what he wanted to know."

Tom chuckled. "It was in the paper and everything. He should have just looked online."

"I'll tell him that too!"

Tom chuckled again and screwed up his rubbish. "Put your mess in the bag when you're done!" He said, then started the car.

* * *

We arrived home fifteen minutes later. I put the rubbish in the wheely bin that was sat on the drive, then followed Tom into the house.

"Thank you for dinner!" I said to him and smiled.

"No problem." He returned the gesture and smiled back. We walked into the kitchen and Tom got a beer from the fridge. I looked at it, then looked at him pleadingly. He shook his head. "One; it's a school night, and two; you're under age." He told me.

I walked around the island counter and opened the fridge door. I stuck my hand in and grabbed a beer. "One; it's just a Thursday." I placed the beer on the Island and kicked the fridge shut. "And two; my age doesn't matter. You can drink from the age of five in your own home."

"Hm, but you're not in your own home." He opened his and took a sip, then slid his hand over to my one and pulled it away.

"Oh, I'll just go home then.." I teased and pulled it away from him, my finger pointed to the front door.

He sighed. "If anyone finds out, I didn't know you had it." He picked his can up and walked into the living room.

"Of course not." I picked mine up and followed him. We both sat on the sofa and I checked my phone whilst he put the TV on. Suddenly, Tom's phone beeped and he picked it up.

"Damn. I totally forgot!" He mumbled. I turned my head to glance and him, confused. "My friend's having a party down in Rochdale tomorrow night. I was going to stay at my Son's flat."

"Oh. I could stay at home tomorrow night.."

"No, no. You're coming with me!"

"But I don't know your friend, or your son..."

"Well you'll meet them tomorrow."

"But I have nothing to wear?"

"Lucy will you stop butting? I'll run you home tomorrow lunch time to get what you need, then we'll go down to Rochdale straight after school. I'll let Josh know that you're coming with me, and you let your Nan know that you'll see her Saturday evening?" He ordered.

"Okay." I mumbled. It sounded like a plan. "Will Sarah be there?"

"Possibly. Text her and ask." He took a sip of his drink, then rang Josh. I texted Sarah, then flicked through the channels, not really paying attention and listening to Tom talk to his son. Five minutes later, he put the phone down and looked at me. "It's all sorted. Nothing to worry about."

"No healthy meal then!" I joked.

He chuckled. "I guess not!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Please guys, review and let me know your opinion's! I love to read reviews and take in the opinions of my readers!**

**Issy, I realised after I made the cover that I'd spelt affection incorrectly, then hoped no one would notice it haha! So yeah, its my bad! :-) xx**

* * *

The next morning came around quickly. Tom and I had spent the rest of the night watching the Soaps and I even let him put the footy on for a bit before I jumped in the shower. I awoke the next morning to Tom pulling the curtain's open and softly saying my name.

"Ugh, it's too bright!" I grumbled.

He chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Come on you, time to get up! I called you half an hour ago!"

I groaned and rubbed my eyes. "No you didn't?"

"I did!" He chuckled again, and I stretched. "You grumbled at me and mumbled a few words that I'd not like to repeat!"

"Oh.." I mumbled. "Sorry."

"It's alright, I dread to think of how your Nan used to wake you up in the morning!"

"She tended to use a more assertive tone."

"Perhaps I'll need to start shouting at you.." Tom teased.

"Ugh, please don't!"

He chuckled. "Get up now, we've got a busy day ahead!"

* * *

Forty minutes later, I found myself and Tom sat in the car, trying to drive through the crowds of Waterloo Road students.

"Get out of the way, bloody idiots!" Tom muttered under his breath, looking at the muppets that were pushing and shoving each other in front of the car. I tried to hold back a giggle.

"Where do you want me to meet you at lunch?" I asked.

"By the car. Meet me as soon as lunch starts, alright? That way we'll have loads of time to get your things and we can stop at the shop to get you some lunch!" he ordered.

"Will do!" I said. Eventually Tom passed the kids and pulled the car into a parking space. I unplugged myself and hooked my bag over my shoulder. "Bye Tom!" I climbed out of the car.

"Bye love!" I heard him shout out behind me as I walked towards the main entrance of the school. I glanced at my phone, seeing that I was a little later than normal, and headed straight to form. As expected, Imogen was already sat there, watching the door, waiting for me.

"Hey you!" she said as I took a seat next to her. "You're a bit late!"

"I know, for some reason my body wouldn't allow me to leave the bed this morning!"

"Didn't Mr Clarkson wake you up?" she questioned.

"Yes, but I don't remember... Apparently I swore at him?" I replied.

She laughed. "That does sound like you!"

"Oh, thanks!" I mumbled sarcastically.

She grinned at me and shrugged. "So, what you up to tonight? Seeings as it's finally Friday!"

"Clarkson's going to some party thing in Manchester and he's taking me with him. What about you?"

"Sounds fun! Connor and I are going to spend the night in!"

"I'm kind of nervous about meeting his son, and that sounds cute!"

"Don't be! Josh is lovely! You'll be able to eye up all the lads with him too! That is unless he has a boyfriend.." Imogen trailed off.

"Wait, Josh is gay?!"

"Yeah, didn't Mr Clarkson tell you?"

"No..." I mumbled. "I suppose that explains why his room was so tidy!"

Imogen laughed. "Non-gays keep their room tidy too?"

"Yeah but none of the ones I've met have!"

* * *

Lunch time came around quickly and before I knew it, I was stood next to Tom's car, waiting impatiently in the icy wind. A few minutes passed before Tom appeared, and I blinked at him, the annoyance showing in my face.

"Will you hurry up?! Its bloody freezing!" I yelled.

"Sorry!" He shouted back, then pointed his keys at the car, unlocking it. I didn't hesitate to jump in and pray that it was warmer than outside. Tom joined me a few seconds later, and started up the car, putting the heater on. "That bloody Barry Barry! I've had one too many encounters with him today!"

"I've had far too many encounters with him since I started. He should have learnt from Mrs Diamonds slap!" I grumbled.

"You're starting to sound like Mr Budgen..." Tom chuckled.

I scoffed. "I sound nothing of the sort!"

Tom chuckled again and started to reverse the car. "If you say so!"

I rolled my eyes and grinned.

We arrived at mine five minutes later, and I dug through my pocket for my key, then opened the door. We walked in and wiped our feet, then headed up to my room. I pulled an overnight bag from under my bed and slung it on top, opened it and searched my draws and wardrobe for the things I needed. My eyes scanned over all of the dresses that were hanging up and sighed, before turning to Tom.

"What kind of party is this?" I asked.

"Engagement. My friend's daughter got engaged a few weeks ago." He answered.

"Will it be a dressy occasion, or can I get away with a shirt and shorts?"

"Wear whatever you want to, Lucy."

I nodded and twisted back to the wardrobe. I pulled out my black hot pants, a black and red flowered shirt, then searched my underwear draw for some skin coloured tights. I eventually tore a pair out from the back and shoved it all in my bag. I grabbed some clean underwear and extra make-up, then something to throw on tomorrow morning.

"You didn't forget to put the rest of your things in your school bag this morning did you?" Tom questioned.

"Of course not! I'll switch it all into my over night bag when we get back in the car!"

"Okay." He glanced at his watch. "Hurry up! I'm starving!"

"And you think I'm not hungry either?"

"Get a move on, Lucy, and you'll be fed!"

"Yes sir!" I mumbled sarcastically, then grinned up at him.

* * *

We returned to school just in time to eat the food that we'd just brought. I shoved my over night bag in the boot of the car, then said goodbye to Tom as he headed towards the staff room, and I walked to the sixth form area.

As expected, I got a few glances from my friends as I sat down and tucked into my food, but no one said anything until they'd finished their conversation.

"Where did you disappear to?" Imogen questioned.

"Clarkson drove me home so I could get some things for tonight, then he bought me lunch." I held up the bag of crisps in my hand as an example.

"What's happening tonight?" Kevin asked.

Imogen smiled at him. "Lucy's going to a party in Manchester with Mr Clarkson tonight and they'll be staying at Josh's!"

"You've never met Josh before have you?" Connor looked at me.

I swallowed the mouthful of food that I had, then answered; "No... Is it bad that I'm nervous?"

"Don't be silly!" Connor said.

"I told her the same.. Josh is lovely! Just as lovely as his Dad!" Imogen said.

Kevin put his arm around me and pulled me close. "Have a good night, Luce! Promise you won't get too drunk and call me in a drunken mess?"

I giggled and hugged Kevin, before pulling away to finish eating. "I won't be drinking... Not with Clarkson around."

"I'm sure Josh will buy you a few sneaky drinks!" Connor said.

"I don't know, I can't see that ending well... Plus we all know I'm a bit of an idiot after a few drinks!"

Imogen laughed. "You'll be fine. Just have two, then stick to soft drinks!"

"Sounds like a plan!" I said, grinning. The bell rang and we all got up and headed to our next lesson.

* * *

I wandered out of the school and into the play ground, knowing that Tom would be collecting all his things and would take a while. I slowly made my way to the car, and checked my phone as I did so. Imogen had left me a message wishing me luck meeting Josh.  
I had no idea why I was so nervous... It's not like I was anything important to them that I needed to make a good impression. Another few weeks and I wouldn't even be living with Tom any more. Yet some how the idea of leaving his house was kind of upsetting... I did miss my Nan, I really did want her home with me, but Tom's house was cosy. I'd miss being treat like a princess all the time, and instead I'd have to start being the parent again seeings as Nan couldn't really do much in her condition. I was getting far to attached to the life style of Mr Clarkson.

"Sorry for taking a while!" Tom's voice tore me from my thoughts. I looked up and him from where I had perched my bum on the bonnet of his car. He was rushing towards me, his keys ready to unlock the car.

"It's fine." I smiled at him, and he returned the gesture.

"Thank god it's Friday!" He said as he got closer.

I slid off the front of the car as the lights flashed, signalling that the car was now unlocked. "It's been a long week." I mumbled, then pulled the door open.

"You can say that again!" He opened his door and we both climbed in. We both threw our bags onto the back seat, and as Tom started the car I yanked my tie off. "Ready for the long journey?"

"Sure am!"

"You didn't forget to pack your pills did you?" He asked as he reversed the car out of the parking space.

"Of course not." I said. He was starting to sound like my Mum. "You need to stop worrying about me!"

"Its my job to worry about you, Lu." He said.

I raised my eyebrow at the name he had just called me. Did he just give me a nickname? "Lu?"

He looked at me. "Yeah.. You don't mind me calling you that do you?"

"No, it's kind of cute.." I shrugged and smiled. I'd been called Luce many times before, but Lu was a new one.

"Well that's sorted then." Tom grinned at me, then concentrated on the road.

* * *

The four hour journey felt like it took forever! We stopped on the way into Rochdale to grab some eggs and bread to make dinner with, then continued to Josh's.

When we arrived, the butterflies were fluttering around my stomach and I felt a little sick with nerves. My antidepressants controlled my anxiety, but only to a certain extent, and the thoughts of Josh hating me were rushing around my head, making me feel even worse. Maybe he'd be jealous that I was being looked after by his Dad and he wasn't?

We approached the door, bags in hand, and Tom pressed the buzzer.

"Hello?"

"Alright son? Let us in! It's freezing out here!" Tom said.

There was a laugh on the other end of the receiver. "Alright!" The door buzzed and unlocked, then Tom held it open for me, before leading me up three flights of stairs to Josh's flat. Josh was already stood at the door grinning. "Dad!" He cried, and hugged Tom.

I stood back and watched awkwardly. You could see a little resemblance between them, and I couldn't help but smile.

Josh looked up at me, "This is Lucy?"

"Yeah." Tom turned to look at me, a smile on his face. "Lu, this is my son, Josh."

I smiled a little at him and mumbled a small 'hi' before looking down at my hands.

"It's nice to meet you, Lucy!" He said.

"She's a little nervous.." Tom said. "I'm sure she'll be fine once we're sorted. 'Ehy Lu?"

I glanced up at him and nodded, then followed them both inside.

Josh didn't seem too bad. I was just being silly, and the anxiety was getting the best of me. In fact, Josh looked like he was the sort of person you could trust with anything, just like his Dad. Another resemblance.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for all your reviews! Made me really happy! Keep them coming! I want to hear your opinions!**

* * *

Josh took the food we'd just brought from Tom and started to make us dinner. Tom showed me to the spare bedroom and told me to start getting ready. I was glad to have a little bit of time to myself, to convince myself that Josh and I would get on well and that my mind was just being foolish. I perched on the bed and looked around the cream room. It felt like the first time that I'd stayed at Tom's, unusual. Nothing like all the times that I'd moved before. I was used to that, this some how felt different.. Not unnerving, but a little uncomfortable.

Fifteen minutes later, Tom popped his head around the door to inform me that dinner was ready. I'd just finished curling the ends of my hair, and my make-up was the first thing I had done.

I stood up and left the room, walking into the living room / kitchen.

"It's on the side Lucy!" Josh said, smiling at me. I walked into the kitchen area and picked up my plate and cutlery, then joined them on the sofa. "So, do you like being at Waterloo road?"

"It's alright. Not much different to my other schools." I mumbled, feeling a bit more confident around Josh after my mental preparation in the bedroom.

"Really? I hated it when I first started!" Josh said.

"Yes, but the school you'd come from was a lot posher than Waterloo road, Josh. That's probably why you hated it!" Tom added in.

"Sh Dad!" He said, and nudged Tom, causing his food to fall from his fork.

"Oi watch it you!" He said and shook his head, a smile on his face.

"Where did you live before Greenock?" Josh asked.

"London, Essex, various places in Manchester..." I looked at Josh's surprised expression. "I moved around a lot because of family things."

"Oh." Josh's smile returned to his face. "At least I'm not the only one that's not got the perfect family!"

I nodded and pursed my lips, before continuing to eat my dinner. It was silent for a few seconds, an awkward cough from Tom breaking the silence, then it returned again. I took a few more mouthfuls of food before anyone spoke.

"So, do you have a boyfriend?" Josh questioned.

I shook my head. "Nope. Do you?"

"Not yet!" He said.

Tom looked up at him. "But you're seeing someone?"

"Yeah..."

"And when will I get to meet him?" Tom put his fork down.

I left them to their conversation about Josh's love life, and finished my dinner. I then excused myself and went to finish getting ready.

* * *

An hour later we arrived at the party in the dingy Rochdale rugby club. As we walked through the wooden double doors, I was shaking from the cold and Tom put his arm around me, rubbing the upper part of my left arm, trying to warm me up a bit. I smiled at him, then looked at the people in front of us. There was about forty here so far, and no doubt there would be more coming. We walked further into the hall and a man approached us.

"Tom!" He said, holding his arms out. Tom removed his arm from me, and 'manly hugged' his friend.

"Adrian. How you been mate?"

"I've been well. Can't believe you actually tore yourself away from the Scottish country air and made it down here!" Adrian joked.

"Well, it was about time that a visit was due, and I couldn't miss our Gem's engagement party could I?" Tom replied.

"I'm glad ya did!" Adrian said, as he slapped Tom on the arm. He then looked up at Josh and I. "Joshy boy!"

"Alright mate?" Josh said, grinning. Adrian slow motion ran over to him and 'manly hugged' him too. He then stepped back and looked at me.

"Well..." He looked me up and down, leaving me feeling a little anxious, then continued to talk. "If Josh prefers a bit of the lads, then who does this stunner belong to?!"

I felt a blush creep onto my now burning cheeks.

Tom chuckled. "This is Lucy. I'm looking after her whilst her Nan's ill."

"Ah I see!" Adrian stepped towards me and held his hand out. I took it, then he pulled me closer and kissed my cheek. "Nice to meet you, darlin'!"

I quickly pulled back, a little uncomfortable and mumbled. "You too."

"Dad?!" A girl's voice came from behind Adrian and he turned around.

Josh stepped a little closer to me and whispered in my ear; "Don't feel uncomfortable, they're all like this... You'll get used to it!" I nodded, and he gave me an encouraging smile.

"Why didn't you tell me Tommy was here?!" The girl's voice came from behind Adrian. I peered around his shoulder to see a blonde girl, about nineteen years old, in a short black dress, a huge smile on her face. She turned to Tom and practically dived into his arms.

"Blimey, you've grown! I've not even been gone a year!" Tom cried, as he embraced her.

"Heels, Tommy!" She said, pulling away from him. "And a massive ring on my finger too!" She held her hand up to show Tom the huge silver ring on her wedding finger.

* * *

The introduction's were well and truly over and done with, and Josh and I wandered to the bar whilst Tom chatted away to some old friends.

"I'll buy you a drink, as long as you don't tell my Dad." Josh said.

"Yeah, I can't see that being a good idea, he was tough on giving me a beer the other day!" I answered.

"Well, if you don't tell, I won't."

"Deal."

"What would you like then?"

"Malibu and coke please!" I smiled at him and waited whilst he ordered the drinks. A minute later he passed me a glass, and I took a sip before thanking him.

"Remember, when Dad asks you, you have to say its coke!"

"I know, I've been through this so many times before, Josh!" I said.

He chuckled. "Sorry!"

We went and sat by Tom and chatted for a while, and our one drink turned to two, then three, then four, and after that I started to lose count.  
Eventually, we ended up on the dance floor, dancing to all the old party classics. I was quite impressed with Josh's dancing skills and wondered if he got it from his Dad, but after the amount of drink's I'd consumed I thought it was best to avoid him for a while.  
We danced with the extremely drunk groom-to-be for a while, then I found myself at the bar again, Josh getting us another drink. It wasn't long before I was clinging onto Josh, barely able to walk. Josh steadied me, then took me to a table in the corner, where he placed me on a chair and tried to sober me up. Unfortunately for him, I didn't sober up very quickly and Tom found his way over to us.

"Are you two nearly ready to go?" He asked.

"No!" I cried. "You have to dance with me Clarkson!" I slurred, climbing to my feet, only to lose my balance and fall straight into Josh's arms. He placed me back on the chair.

"She's been drinking." Tom stated, then glanced at Josh a little disappointed. "How many has she had?"

"Uhm.." Josh hesitated for second. "I lost count after five..."

I laughed and Josh pursed his lips, trying to hold back the chuckle I knew wanted to escape.

Tom sighed. "Josh call a taxi. I'm taking Lu home. You can stay if you like."

I looked at Josh and it was clear on his face that he wanted to stay away from the drama at home for a few hours. He then stood up and pulled his phone out.

"What are you like, Lu?" Tom asked, kneeling down beside me.

* * *

I didn't remember saying goodbye to anyone, and didn't even remember the drive home in the back of the taxi. I woke up a bit when Tom sat me down on the bed and told me to get changed, then left the room to get me a glass of water.

I stumbled around the room, trying to take my clothes off. My shorts slid down quickly, but my tights were a bit of a struggle, I fumbled around with my shirt buttons, then slid a large hoody on instead of pyjama's. Tom returned as I stumbled towards the bed. We sat down and he handed me the glass of water.

"Trust you to be the one that get's really drunk and can barely walk!" Tom mumbled.

I took a sip of my drink, then answered; "I've been worse than this, trust me."

Tom chuckled. "Oh, I don't doubt it. I suppose it's a good job that Josh stopped you when he did."

I smiled and passed the glass to him, then pulled my legs up and crossed them like a child would in primary school. It was quiet for a while, as Tom put the glass on the floor. For some reason, the most random question popped into my head, and I didn't hesitate to ask it.

"Why do you live on your own in that massive house?"

"I don't live alone. You're living with me." He answered.

"You know what I mean!" I grumbled. "Haven't you found the one?"

He sighed and shook his head. "No, I suppose I haven't."

"Oh..."

"There's been a few, but it all ended in disaster." Tom shook his head, a smile creeping onto his face. "I think i'll just end up being one of those men that never settle down!"

"Don't say that!" I said. "What about Josh's mum? Did you ever think about being with her for the rest of your life?"

"No." Tom paused. "We were never really together. It was a fling... She uh, stole my sperm."

I blinked in shock. "Wow..."

"Yeah, it's a long story, I think we'll have to save it for another day! You need to sleep."

"No!" I cried. "I want to know more!"

"You can know more tomorrow. I'll tell you on the way back to Greenock." He said, then muttered under his breath; "If you even remember this conversation."

"Hey I heard that!" I grumbled, then quickly laid backwards. However I was too close to the wall and painfully thumped my head. "Ow, shit."

Tom sighed and gently took hold of me, twisting my body to where I should be laying. I looked up at him, and something flickered inside of me. His face was just centimetres from mine and my heart started to flutter. Without hesitating, I pushed my lips to his. Surprisingly, he didn't pull back and our lips stayed locked for a few seconds, then I pulled back and looked at him. His face was expressionless and he stayed frozen for a while, both of us silent.

He broke the silence after a little while, and mumbled, "Good night, Lu." Before throwing the covers over me and leaving the room.  
I didn't even have time to think about what had just happened, as my eyes fell shut and I drifted into a deep drunken sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

My eyes slowly flickered open and I groaned. The morning light from outside was shining through the pale curtains and right into my eyes. I rolled over and threw the covers over my minorly aching head. I knew I'd consumed a lot of alcohol last night, seeings as I couldn't remember anything after the point of dancing with the groom-to-be and Josh. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut and prayed that I hadn't made too much of a fool of myself. I laid there for a few seconds, then there was a knock on the door.

I poked my head out of covers and called out; "Come in!"

Seconds later, the door opened and Josh was stood in the door way with a grin on his face. "Hanging?"

"I don't think I am..."

He chuckled and took a step into the room, kicking the door shut behind him. "You were a wreck last night!"

I put my head in my hands, then sat up and patted the bed, signalling Josh to sit down. "What did I do? Tell me all!"

He sat next to me and thought about what I'd done. "Well, we danced with Gem's fiancé.."

"I remember that!"

"And after a few more drinks, you were falling about every where. I had to literally drag you over to a chair!"

"Oh dear." I felt my cheeks start to burn up. "I suppose that would be a side effect of mixing antidepressants with alcohol.. Impaired coordination. The simplist task such as walking becomes the most difficult!"

Josh chuckled. "I wasn't supposed to be drinking either, my med's don't really mix with alcohol!"

I smiled. "At least I wasn't the only one! What was I like when I got home?"

"I stayed at the party, Dad brought you home. He said you fell straight asleep!"

"Oh right, at least I didn't make a fool out of myself!" I laughed.

"Yeah.." Josh smiled at me. "Do you want some breakfast? Dad's still asleep on the sofa, so we'll have to be quiet."

"I think I'll pass, I'm not really a breakfast person!"

* * *

A few hours later Tom and I were back on the road, heading up to Greenock. For some reason Tom had barely spoken to me this morning. At first I figured that he was probably just still sleepy and wasn't in the mood to talk, but since we'd started driving an hour ago, we hadn't spoken once. Maybe he was just disappointed that I had been drinking last night, I'd have been pretty irritated if I was him, looking after a drunk seventeen year old wasn't exactly easy. There wasn't really any other reason for him to give me silent treatment, was there?

After I'd thought about it for a bit, I decided to text Josh. We'd exchanged numbers this morning and he'd told me to stay in touch.

I asked him if Tom had mentioned anything about being annoyed with me this morning, and shortly after got a reply saying;

'No, why?xxx'

I explained that Tom hadn't spoken to me and he replied with my first thoughts, that he was disappointed with me. I stared out of the window, a little irritated that he was giving me the silent treatment. If I had disappointed him, why didn't he just bloody say so?!

It took a few minutes for me to gather up enough courage to confront him. "Are you giving me the silent treatment or something?" I muttered.

"Of course not." Tom answered, bluntly. He didn't look at me and continued to concentrate on the road.

"Don't lie to me. Until now you didn't say a word to me since you got up?"

"There was nothing to say, Lucy." he replied.

I blinked at him, a frown on my face. What the hell was his problem? Why didn't he just tell me what I'd done wrong? At least then I could apologise.

We sat in silence for another fifteen minutes, before I spoke up again. "Will you just tell me what your fucking problem is?!"

Tom shook his head and still didn't look at me. "I don't have a problem, Lucy."

I realised that he'd stopped using the nickname he'd given me. "You're not like this normally."

* * *

Nothing more was said for the rest of the journey. We arrived back in Greenock and carried our things inside, still silent. I headed straight upstairs, figuring that there would be no point in staying downstairs if Tom wasn't going to talk to me. I put my things away, then prepared to go and visit my Nan. I knew there was no point in asking Tom to take me, it would just be awkward, so I would walk.

I got back from seeing my Nan at about eight, and started to head upstairs when I heard Tom's voice. "Lu?"

I paused on the stairs for a second. "Given up the silent treatment then?"

"Come in here."

I walked back down the steps and into the living room. "What?"

He was sat on the sofa, the football on, a beer in his hand. "How much do you remember of last night?"

"Basically nothing."

"At all?"

"No.." I looked at his serious face, confused. "Did I kill someone or something?"

"No." Tom replied.

"Then what?"

"We kissed."

I blinked in shock. Shit, why do I always do ridiculous things?! "I'm guessing it was more than just a peck..." I mumbled.

Tom didn't answer. I felt the embarrassment flush through my body and I quickly turned around, heading back upstairs. I pushed the door shut behind me and flopped onto my bed. I was such an idiot. There was no way on earth that I could take that back, and I'm sure Tom would not want to put up with me any longer after that... God knows what I'd try next.

I wondered what'd made me kiss him. I assumed that I was the one that'd gone in first, Tom knew that he shouldn't have been too close to me. But then again, he'd said 'we kissed' meaning that he kissed me back?

I shook my head, as if to clear my mind, but this wouldn't go away. I'd drunkenly kissed my English teacher. Only an idiot would do that.


	7. Chapter 7

The week passed quickly. I'd spent Sunday in my room, only leaving at hospital visiting times, trying to avoid Clarkson the best that I could. I left him a note Sunday night saying that I wouldn't need waking up or dropping off at school because I was 'walking with some friends'. In actual fact I was getting up early and taking an extra long stroll to school, still trying to avoid Tom. It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to him, because I did. But I just wished that I hadn't done what I did on Friday night. I didn't want to sit and have the awkward chat where he told me it was wrong and can't ever happen again. I already knew what he was going to say, I didn't need to hear the words escape his lips.

Imogen seemed to notice a difference in me, she'd keep asking if I was okay. I really wanted to snap at her and reply with; "No. No I am not bloody okay! I kissed my English teacher slash the man I'm living with and haven't spoke to him since!" But of course, I couldn't tell her. It'd cause even more of a mess if any one else found out. So I was completely alone. If it'd been someone else that I'd kissed, I'd have gone straight to Tom.. But seeings as it was him, I had no one to tell. I wondered if he'd told anyone.. I doubted it, he didn't seem close to any of the teachers... Except Miss Boston. Damn. What if he'd told her?! She'd think I was a right little skank, she'd probably tell him to kick me out of his house. He had too good of a heart to do that though, in fact he was one of the kindest men I'd ever met...

"Lucy!" Imogen's voice teared me from my thoughts. "You're so distant..."

"I'm sorry. I've just got a lot to think about." I answered.

"Like what? You can tell me anything you know." She gave me an encouraging smile.

"I know I can, Imogen. Thank you. It's nothing to worry about, my mind is just being a bit over-active!" I tried to avoid telling her the truth, then turned back to my work, pretending I was figuring out the algebraic equations that Chalky had given us.

Imogen and I didn't talk for a while, then she whispered in my ear. "Double-English next!"

I blinked and tried to smile. "Yeah.." I mumbled. It was the lesson I'd been dreading all week. Mrs Mulgrew had informed us that Mr Clarkson would be taking our lessons for the next six weeks, without giving us a reason why. I couldn't face Tom at all at home, never mind all the tension that would be felt in his class room.

* * *

Break time passed in a flash, and I mentally prepared myself for my next lesson. I couldn't think of anything at all to get me out of the lesson... I couldn't help Maggie in the kitchen, Dynasty did that... and there was no sports events going on to give a helping hand at. I was helpless, I had to sit in double-English.

We lined up outside the door, everyone chatting away in small groups. Kevin, Imogen and Connor chatted away next to me, whilst I nervously bit my lip, dreading the lesson.

"Line up properly guys, come on!" Tom's voice echoed down the corridor. My legs started to feel like jelly. Tom stood by the door and opened it, allowing everyone to go in. His eyes slowly worked their way down the line and he froze on me. I swallowed and walked behind Imogen, refusing to look at him any more, feeling the embarrassment creeping back up through my body. "I didn't expect to see you, Miss Sigler. In fact, I haven't seen you all week."

I continued walking and didn't reply to him. I entered the classroom and sat down next to Imogen.

"You look like you've seen a ghost.." Imogen whispered into my ear. I glanced up at her and half-heartedly smiled, then looked back down at the desk. "Anyway, what was that about with Clarkson? Surely he's seen you... You live with him?"

I didn't answer her as Tom started to talk. He ordered for us to all get our books out and start to read chapter twelve, and I did as I was told. However, my mind started to wander and I found myself not concentrating on the book at all. I was in my happy place, away from this god-awful English lesson where the tension could be cut with a bloody knife.

I wasn't in my happy place for long, when suddenly a nudge from Imogen brought me back to reality. I looked up, clueless.

"Lucy? Outside.. now." Tom's voice sounded stern, so I slowly rose from my chair and followed him outside the classroom. He pulled the door shut. "Look, Lu, I know things are awkward."

"I don't think that's the word for it..." I muttered.

"But we'll sort that out later. We're going to stop and have a proper chat tonight."

"I'm going out tonight, then going to see Nan." I said, trying to avoid his 'proper chat' tonight.

"Well then I'll have to catch you after the lesson, but until then can you just focus on the English?"

He sounded a little heartless.

"Fine." I grumbled, and turned around to face the door. He placed his hand on my shoulder and I shuddered, before shrugging it off. I just needed him to leave me alone. I felt too embarrassed to face him.

* * *

The lesson passed slowly, but I did my best to concentrate. I picked up my things and rushed out of the room as soon as the bell went. I heard Tom calling my name behind me, but I couldn't stop and talk to him. I just couldn't.

Kevin rushed after me. "Luce! Luce!" he sounded breathless, so I slowed down a little bit knowing I was away from the English room. "Luce, Clarkson was calling you!"

"I know." I grumbled. "I don't want to talk to him."

"Oh. Lover's tiff?" he teased. I looked at him in disbelief, then sped up a little bit. "Oh, Luce! Come on! You know I was joking! Slow down!"

I slowed down again, and dropped back to Kevin's side.

"Things getting stressful?" He asked. I nodded and he put his arm around me. I snuggled into him a bit as we walked. Kevin was such a good friend, he knew just how to make me feel a little bit better. All a girl needs every now and again is a cuddle. "Trust me, it'll all get better. I've been at the low, then it improved."

"It's just hard to stay calm, Kev." I mumbled.

"I know it is. Just stay hopeful." He smiled. "And I'm sure your Nan is getting better." He added on. So that was what he thought I was upset about... He wasn't wrong, but there was a hell of a lot more involved in my 'stress list', and Clarkson was number one.


	8. Chapter 8

**Guys PLEASE don't forget to review! I love seeing your feedback! Oh and this chapter is M, I repeat THIS CHAPTER IS M. If you don't read this top bit then complain, well then that's your own fucking problem. the rest of the story is T, so I don't want to have to change the rating for this one chapter, but I really want to keep this chapter in.**

* * *

After school I headed straight to my house to get some things to go to the gym. I didn't want to go back to the gym, and I needed to waste time before I could visit Nan.

I absent-mindedly spent forty five minutes in the gym before changing and heading to the hospital. That was all I'd done for the past week and it was good to see Nan being well looked after.

Once I'd entered the hospital, I'd headed straight up to the floor my Nan was on. I slowly wandered down the corridor towards her ward, not really paying attention to anything. As I turned the corner, my heart almost stopped. There was a group of Doctors and nurses around my Nan's bed. I rushed over and grabbed one of the nurses, demanding to know what's going on.

"Could you step back please?" the nurse asked patiently.

"Tell me what's happening?!" I screeched, but I already knew what was happening. The sound of the defibrillator was echoing in the room and I felt sick.

"Just a minute, please." the nurse said. I ignored her and pushed past, just as the doctor said the worst thing possible.

"Time of death 6.03 pm."

My knees became weak and a lump rose in my throat. I stared at the body laid in the bed in front of me. She couldn't be gone. She was supposed to be here to get better.. To not leave me.

"I'm sorry." the nurses voice dragged me into reality and I blinked at her. Without a reason why, or a clue where I was going, I turned on my heels and ran. Through the corridors, down four flights of stairs, through crowds outside the gift shop and cafe. I ran out into the cold March air, the sky a deep blue, slowly turning dark, and just kept running. My bag kept sliding off of my shoulder, and I could barely see through the years that had started to pour down my face, but I didn't care. I needed to get away.

I ran in a daze, unaware of where I was going and what was happening around me. My mind was blank, not one thing popped into my mind as I ran, until I reached the place where I finally slowed down to a walk, eventually stopping. I stared up at the house in front of me, feeling numb, before I took a few steps towards the door and knocked. It took a few seconds before I could see anyone through the glass. And then the door opened. I stood there, staring at the person in front of me, the tears still streaming down my cheeks.

"Lucy?"

I opened my mouth to answer but I couldn't find the words to speak.

"What's happened?"

I spluttered a few times before managing to blurt out; "She's dead."

"Oh, Lu!" Was the reply, as he pulled me into a hug.

* * *

I'd ran straight to Tom's, with no idea why. It was like my body had wanted him to be the first one I went to... The one I wanted to comfort me.

He'd hugged me, then shut the door and taken me into the living room. He'd sat down on the sofa with me, and held me in his arms until the tears stopped and there was just dry sobs erupting from inside my body.

"She was basically alone..." My voice was barely a whisper.

"But she knew she was loved." Tom replied.

"But I wasn't there."

"She knew that you'd have been there if it wasn't so unexpected. She knew how much she meant to you."

I said nothing else and closed my eyes, still in Tom's arms. It didn't take long for me to doze off.

* * *

A few hours later, I groggily awoke on the sofa, alone. I felt awful. One of the worst things had happened to me and I had no idea what to do anymore.

After a few minutes I dragged myself off of the sofa and into the kitchen. Tom glanced up at me from the table in the corner.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Shit." I grumbled and sat down next to him.

"You'll feel better in time."

"Will I?" I grumbled.

"Of course." He stood up. "Do you want a cup of tea?"

"I could do with something stronger."

"It's only a Wednesday.."

"My Nan just died, I'm entitled to drown my blues a little." I grumbled.

Tom sighed and walked over to the corner cupboard. He opened it and searched through. "Scotch Whiskey?"

"Never tried it, but anything will do." I sighed and put my head in my hands.

I heard Tom slide the glass bottle out of the cupboard and get two glasses. He placed them on the table, then sat down. I lifted my head back up and watched him pour it into the glasses. I took one and took a large mouthful. When I swallowed it, my throat started to burn and it tasted like earth, I spluttered a little and looked at the liquid in the glass.

"That's fucking rank..." I complained, then downed the rest of it before sliding the glass back over to Tom. "More please."

Tom shook his head, a smile growing on his lips. "You're going to be an alcoholic one day."

"I'll get bored of drinking in a few years." I replied.

He poured me another glass and slid it back to me.

I thanked him, then sipped from it.

"You don't have to go to school tomorrow, if you feel that you aren't ready." Tom said.

I shrugged. At least if I didn't go to school tomorrow, I could most definitely drink away my sorrows tonight.

"But that doesn't mean you can get hammered on Scotch." Tom warned.

I sighed. "You ruined my plan."

Tom shook his head lightly. "I know you far too well, Lu."

"Am I becoming predictable?" I grumbled.

"Only to me." He smiled and patted my hand that was placed next to my glass. I looked at his hand and then sighed. Now I was talking to him again, it would only be a matter of time until we'd need to discuss the kiss, as much as I'd not like to.

* * *

A few hours later, I found myself still sat at the table with Tom. I'd had a few more glasses and was feeling a little tipsy. I felt a little bit better, but not enough to be happy.

"Come on. Bed time. I'm knackered!" Tom said, collecting the glasses. I picked up the now empty bottle of Whiskey and put it in the bin, then followed Tom up the stairs. He went to turn into his room when I grabbed his arm.

"Thank you, Tom." I said. He smiled at me. "You've done so much for me."

He reached out and pulled me into a hug. "Anything for you, Lu." He mumbled into my ear. After a few seconds we pulled back, but instead of letting go of me, Tom looked into my eyes. "You're special, you know that right?"

The way he held me and stared into my eyes made my heart flutter. I didn't know what to reply, but luckily I didn't have the time to, as Tom pressed his lips to mine. Any previous thoughts I'd had were completely gone now, all that filled my mind was how wrong this was, but how right it felt. A few seconds passed before the kiss changed, it had now become a rough, passionate kiss. Tom slid his tongue along my bottom lip, as if he was asking for entrance and I gladly let him. I stepped back and leant against the wall, pulling on Tom's shirt, bringing him with me, not parting our lips for a second. His hands slid up the back of my top and he placed them on my lower back, sending chills up my spine, and butterflies in my stomach. Tom tore our lips apart and trailed the kisses along my jawline to my neck causing a sharp breath to involuntarily leave my throat.

It wasn't long before I found my hands tugging on his shirt, fumbling with the buttons, his lips still pressed to my neck. Eventually, I managed to undo all of the buttons and tear his shirt from him to show his well looked after body. His body wasn't massively impressive, he didn't have a six pack or anything near the sort, but it was well toned and extremely good for someone of his age.

He did the same to me and pulled his lips away from my neck to pull my top over my head, and onto the floor. I hungrily pushed my lips back to his and ran my hands through his hair. He mumbled "Jump." into my lips, and I did as I was told, wrapping my legs around his body, as he placed his hands on my ass to hold me up. He carried me into his room, our lips not parting for a second, then laid me back onto the bed, pulling my leggings off as he did so. He then gently climbed on top of me, pressing his lips to my neck again. He trailed the kisses all the way down my body, the further down he went, the more I held back the moan that was slowly arising. He kissed along my knicker line, then softly pulled my undies down and blew on my clit. He then slid his tongue down to my slit, causing the moan to escape my lips. I wrapped my legs around Tom, my heels digging into his back. I pushed his head further between my legs, as if to beg him to continue, and was glad when he didn't disappoint.

He put one of his hands over my stomach, as if to keep me in place and brought his other hand between my legs, gently easing a finger in. I let out a breath of air and murmured; "Mm." Using this as a signal, he added a second finger and moved it in a come hither motion.

"God, Tom." I moaned, my voice almost inaudible. He withdrew his fingers and I reached down, fiddling with the button on his jeans, before sliding them down. He kicked them off and let them drop to the floor. I tugged on his boxers too, freeing his large member and bit down on my bottom lip before whispering seductively; "I want you."

He hesitated for a second. "Are you sure?" he asked softly, earning a nod from me. He started to position himself between my legs. He rubbed his tip at my entrance, but I started to get impatient and thrusted my hips upward. I felt him enter me and moaned deeply. He wasn't my first, but it sure as hell felt better than the first few times. He pulled out of me slowly and rocked back in even slower. He did this a few times until I began to beg him, "Fuck me, fuck me harder.." He did as he was told. "Like that, don't stop.."


	9. Chapter 9

**Last night I read that Jason Done is leaving Waterloo Road, and started to cry. I think I might be a little too obsessed with Waterloo Road, and well mostly Tom Clarkson, but yeah. I can't believe it, I'm gutted. (Jesus Christ, starting to sound like I know him or something?) Anyway, enjoy this next chapter, and I am sorry that it took so long!**

* * *

My eyes fluttered open and I blinked a few times before realising that I wasn't in my own room. For a start, it was too dark.. The curtain's were normally almost see through. Secondly, if I was in my own bed then my heart wouldn't be pounding like I was about to have a cardiac arrest. Staring up at the ceiling, I took a slow breath of air in through my nose, then quietly puffed it out through my mouth. My memories of last night gave me no doubt about who's bed I was laid in, and it almost made me feel sick. Not with disgust, more with worry. I'd freaked out after kissing my English teacher, so how the hell did I react the morning after having sex with him? Perhaps it had just been a sympathy thing, after all, I was in pretty bad shape last night, what a better way to make me happy? But then again, he had a career to think about, and sure as hell wouldn't risk it for a sympathy fuck..

The moving of the body next to me dragged me away from my thoughts, and my heart sped up even more, it was almost as if I could hear it. I took another deep breath and just waited for what would happen next, I had no idea what to say or do, I'd let him say something first.

Tom coughed a little, before talking. "Well... We're in a bit of a situation here."

I turned my head to look at him. He was laid on his back, looking up at the ceiling, just like I had been. "You can say that again." I mumbled.

He twisted his head to look at me, his face only just visible in the darkness of the room. "I'm not going to lie, I have no clue what to say."

I let out a small puff of breath, almost a laugh. "Neither do I."

We stared at each other for a little while, before Tom pressed his lips to mine. Butterflies swirled around my stomach as I kissed him back. Eventually I broke up the kiss, and looked at him again.

"I don't regret one second of it." He said softly, his voice almost a whisper.

"Then what now?" I questioned.

He thought for a moment. "I honestly can't answer that, because I don't know."

I shut my eyes for a second, wondering if I was really dreaming and all of this had just been one very graphic dream that my mind had made up in my sleep. Suddenly, Tom's alarm on his phone beeped, startling me. I opened my eyes and watched as he rolled over and picked up his phone. Within seconds, the alarm was off and he rolled back over to look at me again.

"Are you going to come in today?" He questioned.

"I need something to occupy my mind." I shrugged.

He nodded. "You can't tell anyone about this, us." He said sternly. "Not only is it against the law, but I need to sit down and think about what happen's next."

"Okay." I mumbled. I hadn't been planning on telling anyone anyway. I didn't have anyone to tell. Well, I could probably trust Kevin with something like this, but it wouldn't happen. It wouldn't be right to tell anyone.

Tom slowly got up and slid into some clothes. "You have an hour to get ready." He said, leaning down to kiss me again, then left the room.

* * *

Not long later, we pulled up into the school car park and I unplugged myself, then looked at Tom. "What time will you be finishing?"

"About four, can you find something to do?"

"I can probably get Kevin to help me with ICT for a bit."

"Alright then." He smiled at me and opened his door. "I'll see you tonight."

"Yes." I smiled back, then opened my door and climbed out, pushing it shut behind me.

"Have a good day." Tom called over the top of the car.

"You too!" I said, then turned around and headed towards the front entrance. I wasn't too sure what I looked like today. I couldn't be bothered with my make-up, and I think it was going to be the first time that anyone will see me without it. But that didn't matter. I had a lot more on my mind than just trying to look perfect and putting make-up on. As usual, I didn't have very long to think about anything, as a few familiar faces popped up in front of me.

"Lucy!" Imogen called. I looked up at her and faintly smiled. She was walking along hand-in-hand with Connor, Kevin trailing along behind them, concentrating on whatever he was doing on his phone. I paused and waited for them to get to me, then continued walking. Imogen continued the conversation she was previously having with Connor, and I dropped back to Kevin's side.

He locked his phone and looked up at me. "Wow, Luce, you look different!"

I shook my head at him and smiled. "I'm hoping that's a good thing."

"Of course. You shouldn't wear make-up more often!"

I shrugged and looked down at the floor. Nan had often told me that. She'd said that I didn't need make-up because I was 'beautiful without it'. I'd always told her to shut up and that I looked awful without it.. It was a cute little argument. An argument that would never take place again...

"Luce, you okay?" Kevin questioned.

I looked up at him, seeing his eyebrow's furrowed into a frown and the concern on his face. "I uh, do you remember the other day when you said everything will get better?"

"Yes?" He said, confused, as we slowly walked up the steps.

"It didn't." I said, my voice becoming quieter. "She died."

He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me, his eyebrows raised. "God, I am so sorry Lucy!" He cried.

I paused next to him, feeling the tears stinging my eyes. He pulled me into a hug and I put my head on him, squeezing my eyes shut, trying to hold back the tears. After a minute or two, he let go and looked at me again.

"I'm here if you ever want to talk." He told me. I wanted to tell him everything, I wanted to talk about last night and how confused I was, but I knew I couldn't.

"Thank you." I softly mumbled.

He put his arm around my shoulders and we continued to walk. "Come on, lets catch up with Imogen and Connor."


	10. Chapter 10

**Guys, please don't forget to review! It's one of the most important things for me, so I know what you all think, and whether there is anything I could include that you'd like?**

* * *

The first two lesson's passed very slowly, and I struggled to keep my mind on my work. It was either Nan or Tom on my mind, and either way I was constantly getting snapped at by teacher's for 'having my head in the clouds'. I was more than glad when break time came around and we were released from the classroom. I hadn't been in a lesson with Kevin, Connor nor Imogen, and I didn't particularly have any other friends I could talk to, so I wandered out of the classroom and down the hallway on my own. I strolled along, heading towards the canteen, hoping the queue wouldn't be too long so I could buy a milkshake. Suddenly, my phone started to buzz in my pocket and I pulled it out to look. However, it continued to buzz, meaning that I hadn't just received a text message.. Someone was calling me. I looked down at the caller ID and my heart started to pound. Dad.

I slid my finger along the screen to answer the call. "H-hello?" I answered, my voice shaky.

"Lucy." The voice that I hadn't heard in a long time made a small lump rise in my throat. "I'm coming up tomorrow to get things sorted for my Mother's funeral."

His Mother's funeral? He was hardly her son! He'd not kept contact with her, just like he hadn't me. He swanned off with his new girlfriend and her children, forgetting everyone else who had been in his past. Even his own children...

"Don't bother. She never liked you." I snapped, feeling a little angry. He'd called me just to tell me that?! No 'how are you Lucy? How are you coping? Where are you staying? You're not on your own are you?' Heartless bastard. He really didn't give a shit about his own daughter.

"Do not talk to me like that, Lucy. She was my Mother, she loved me. And I need to pay my respects by arranging everything for a perfect goodbye." He told me.

"Well in that case, she knew how to be a proper parent then. Too bad her son didn't pick up on how to do it."

I heard his sigh. "Do not turn any of what happened around onto me. It was all your fault, you never accepted my new family. That has nothing to do with why I rang you anyway. I will be up tomorrow at midday, I'll be sorting everything out myself."

I tried to hold back the tears that were stinging my eyes. "Well you don't need to worry about me getting in the way again, you can have the house all to yourself."

"I was planning on it anyway."

I angrily clenched my teeth together, before taking a deep breath and continuing to talk. "Yeah, I'll just be spending the night at the parlour, with the other girls. Maybe we'll have a nice young lad to come in for once, instead of all the dirty paedophiles that like to stick it in." I snapped, before hanging up the phone. Of course what I'd just said was a lie, but he wouldn't have even cared if it was the truth anyway.

A tear fell from my left eye and slowly rolled down my cheek. My Dad didn't care about me in any way or form... I literally had no one left. I paused outside the canteen door, took a deep breath and wiped my eyes. I gave myself a second to compose, then walked into the busy room, keeping my head down. If I'd have known that Dad was going to call, I wouldn't have bothered to come in today. I found my way to the back of the food line before putting my head up and looking around the room. Imogen was sat at a table with Connor and Dynasty, Kevin no where in sight. A small group of teachers were sat at a table across the hall, consisting of Tom, Chalky and Boston.

Suddenly, my phone began to buzz again. I looked down at it, and to no surprise, it was Dad. I thought for a second before answering it, could I compose myself for long enough to talk to him? Not giving myself a chance to think anymore, I answered the phone again.

I didn't have a chance to open my mouth before I heard his voice. "I will not have you talk to me like that. I am your Dad. You do not mouth off at me."

I scoffed. "What you don't believe that I was telling the truth? How else am I supposed to earn money now? I don't have any decent qualifications yet, why not sell my body to men that want it?" I was so tempted to make up some gorey details, about how the men touched me, just to piss off my Dad, but he spoke up again.

"Actually, that doesn't surprise me." He laughed. "I knew you'd end up a little slut like your mother."

Something inside of me snapped. "Don't you dare talk about my Mum like that." My Mum had never been a slut, she'd only been with one man after my Dad and he'd abused her when he was drunk. Dad loved to talk shit about her to wind me up.

He laughed again, and I felt the tears sting in my eyes again. "I should have known that you would have never been worth anything better than that sort of lifestyle."

How could my own Dad talk to me like that? No one had ever said anything as horrible as that to me before.

"But why do I care," he continued. "You're hardly my daughter. You haven't bothered with me in years. You're useless."

The tears fell from my eyes and I tried to hold in the sob that was waiting to erupt from my chest. "Don't ever call me again. I want one text telling me the date and time of Nan's funeral, and then I never want to hear from you again." I cried, my voice shaky, tears streaming from my eyes. I hung up on my Dad and stuffed my phone in my pocket. Thank god Tom had his back to me, I couldn't let him see me in this sort of state again. But at the same time, I wanted someone to comfort me. Hold me and tell me everything would be fine.

I turned and tried to push through the people lined up behind me to get out of the Queue, I needed to get out this room and fast.

"What are you doing?!" Some kid cried as I pushed between him and his friend. He'd said it far too loud for my liking and as I looked up at the room, I could see Miss Boston looking at me. I knew as soon as her mouth opened that she was going to point Tom in my direction. I stood there, my legs like jelly, the tears still falling, as Tom twisted his head to look at me.

* * *

Within seconds he had been at my side, one arm around me, leading me out of the canteen. Nothing was said until we reached his classroom. He opened the door for me, then followed me in, pushing it shut behind him.

"Oh, Lu!" He cried, pulling me into his chest. I finally let out the loud sob and buried my head into him. "Shh, shh."

We stayed like this until I finally calmed down enough to speak. Neither of us moved.

"What's happened?" He asked softly.

"My Dad called." My voice was barely a whisper. "He called me a slut, told me I was useless. And said he's coming up tomorrow to arrange Nan's funeral."

Tom sighed. "That's just out of order. Does he not realise that he wasn't the only one affected by your Nan's death?!"

"That's the thing. He hasn't been affected by it. He couldn't care less, he just knows that she had no one else other than me." I sobbed. "He didn't bother with me or Nan for years, why does he care now?!"

Tom kissed the top of my head. "I don't know, but as soon as your Nan's funeral is over, I'm never letting him near you again."

I closed my eyes and nodded.

"I swear, I'll never have you let down or put down like that ever again."


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, so the little change I've added to the character's list on here should give you a hint as to what you can expect to happen next, but until I get to that chapter, I'm not giving anything else away ;) Oh and please don't forget to review!**

* * *

We remained in the classroom until I'd calmed down enough to not burst into tears again. Tom kept me held in his arms until I became silent and my breathing became steady again.

"You don't have to come in tomorrow if you don't want to." He told me.

I nodded and took a step back from him, perching my bum on the table behind me. "I'd like it if you stayed home with me..." I bit down on my bottom lip.

He smirked and started shuffling with things on his desk. "As much as I would love to, I have a job to do."

I sighed. "Fine. I don't know what I'll do... I don't think I could stand staying at home all day, I'd have too much time to think."

"Do whatever is best for you, love." Tom turned his head and smiled at me, then continued to shuffle about on his desk.

The noise of children chattering in the corridor informed me that it was time to leave, as I glanced up at the clock. "I'd better get to Maths. I'm sure chalky will be wondering where I am." I slid off of the table, onto my feet.

Tom stopped what he was doing and made his way over to me. "He'll know where you are, after all he was in the canteen with me."

"Oh, yeah."

He smiled. "Enjoy the rest of your day, Lu. Don't let anything else get you down." He said.

"Okay." I smiled at him, then turned to the door. It was hard to not kiss him goodbye, but with a bunch of nosy teenagers gawking through the window, that wasn't the best idea.

"I'll see you later."

"Yeah, bye."

* * *

I slowly wandered to Maths, trying to miss as much as I possibly could, knowing that it would drag. I'd never really enjoyed Maths, and to be totally honest, I didn't know why I'd bothered to take A Level maths, it must've just been another crazy moment where I thought I could succeed.

When I entered the classroom, as expected, all eyes were on me. Everyone wanted to know why I was late. However nothing was said and Mr Chalk nodded at me, giving me an encouraging smile as I took my seat.

"Right, so as I was saying..." Chalky continued to talk to the class and I got out everything I needed for the lesson.

"Hey, what was wrong with you at break?" Imogen whispered. "I was worried, but I didn't come after you and Clarkson because I knew he'd sort it..."

"I'm fine. Just something to do with my Dad. He's coming up tomorrow." I told her.

"Oh, why's he coming up?"

"Nan died last night." I whispered, trying to forget the words that had just left my lips. I didn't want to remember it all, I couldn't break down again in front of everyone. "But I don't want to talk about it."

Imogen's face dropped. She appeared shocked about the news I'd just told her. "God, I am so sorry Luce." She whispered, then faced the front of the classroom, not mentioning anything else about it.

* * *

Eventually, the end of the day came, however I knew that I still had an hour left. Luckily Kevin had agreed to help me out with my ICT work, so I headed towards the sixth form area to wait for him.

Suddenly, someone grabbed my arm and yanked me into a classroom, I gasped, then realised it was Tom and giggled.

"You know, you should be more careful with me.. I'm still fragile." I teased.

"Well in that case, I won't touch you again then." He smirked and stepped back from me.

"I didn't say I didn't want you to touch me." I said, reaching out and grabbing his shirt, pulling him towards me. I leant back onto the filing cabinet and he placed his hands either side of my head, then leant down and pressed his lips to mine. As usual my heart pounded and my stomach filled with butterflies, but as always, I knew it had to end. I waited a second then gently tore us apart.

"Don't you have something to be doing?" I questioned.

"It can wait a few minutes." He said, leaning down to kiss me again. Before his lips managed to reach mine, we were interrupted by my phone starting to buzz. I lifted my hand up to my pocket, and Tom quickly stopped my hand. "Ignore it." he whispered.

I did as he said, and our lips met again, the buzzing stopping. We continued to share our moment before my phone buzzed again. I pulled back and grabbed my phone out of my pocket. "It's probably just Kevin, wondering where I am."

"Well in that case, I'm going to have to let you go, aren't I?" He stepped back again and turned to his desk.

I answered my phone and told Kevin I was in the loo, and would meet him in a few minutes, then hung up and looked at Tom. "Isn't Mr Byrne waiting for you?"

"He is. I'm supposed to be helping him find a new chemistry teacher, now that Miss Diamond has resigned."

"Hm, well, good luck." I smiled at him and walked towards the door. "I'll see you at four."

"You will." He smiled back at me, then picked up some things from his desk.

* * *

Kevin and I worked on my ICT work for a little while, then spent the rest of the time talking about my messed up family. He was a great person to talk to, and he always stayed so calm about things, no matter what.

After Tom and I had arrived home, we'd ordered a take away, then spent the rest of the night cuddled up on the sofa. He still had no clue what to do about our situation, neither of us did, but neither of us wanted to stop. I'd never felt more comfortable around anyone in my whole entire life, he made me feel special... Like a princess. Like I was actually worth something and not just a waste of space.

I couldn't imagine being without him now.


	12. Chapter 12

**Remember guys, review! Please!**

* * *

It was the last day of term, and it couldn't have taken any longer to come around. I'd had a tough half term, and I was glad it was finally over.

Tom and I pulled up in the car park and said our goodbyes, then headed off in seperate directions. Less than a minute later, I was approached by a very excited Imogen and Dynasty.

"Lucy! We have something to tell you!" Dynasty said.

I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Imogen took a step closer and whispered into my ear, "Connor and I are getting married tonight, after school."

My mouth dropped open. "Oh that's great, Imogen!"

"I want you to come and be witness with Rhiannon." She informed me.

"Wow! That's amazing! Of course I'll be a witness!" I cried.

A large smile had found its place on Imogen's face. "Thank you! But don't tell anyone, remember, Connor's parents don't know!"

"My lips are sealed, I promise."

It was exciting that two of my best friends were finally getting married, it was about time something good happened around here. It was just unfortunate to know that their parents wouldn't approve, I suppose that shows what people will go through to be with the one they love.

* * *

The day passed quickly, and I found myself sitting alone in the sixth form area during last lesson. Most of my year had an English exam, however they'd decided to put me in for a later entry, seeings as they'd only just realised that I was able to do the higher paper. I spent the free lesson flicking through revision booklets and thinking about the wedding. I was so excited, I couldn't even imagine how Imogen would be feeling, it must've been almost impossible for her to sit still in that exam!

Finally, the bell rang and I slowly gathered my things today, knowing it would take a while for them to be exited from the exam. Plus, I had to find a way of telling Tom that I wouldn't be home until late.

I wandered down the corridor, other students rushing past in a hurry to leave. I paused outside the hall and leant against the wall, peering through the window to see the teacher's collecting the papers. Just as I was about to turn away, Tom looked up at me. I waved my hand, as if to call him over, and he passed the papers to Miss Boston, whispering something to her. He then made his way over to the door and slid out.

"You wanted me?"

"I needed to catch you before the rush of everyone leaving the exam. I'm going to be heading straight out after school, just wanted to let you know." I informed him.

"Where are you going?" He questioned.

"Uhm..." I tried to think up something that wouldn't involve mentioning Connor and Imogen's wedding.

"You're not going to see your Dad are you?!"

"No! No. Definitely not. I'll have to tell you later, I just can't tell you right now."

He narrowed his eyes, but didn't question it any further. "Alright. I'll see you tonight then."

"You will indeed."

He smiled and put his hand on my upper arm, gently rubbing it, then turned around and went back into the hall.

A few minutes later, everyone was dismissed from the hall and Dynasty rushed straight to my side. "You should see Im's dress, it's gorgeous!" she cried.

"Can't wait to see it! She's going to look so beautiful!" I smiled.

"It's the first wedding I've been to in a long time!"

"Me too!" I said, watching as Imogen and Connor walked along hand-in-hand in front of us.

* * *

Dynasty, Imogen and I went to hers to pick up her dress, then headed straight to the registry office. We started to help her get ready in the toilets, but then I felt like I was getting in the way and left the two of them to it. I headed outside to wait for Rhiannon and found Connor and Kevin sat on the bench.

"Don't you scrub up well!" I said to Connor, who was looking very smart in his black waistcoat.

"Thanks Luce!" He said.

"No problem!" I smiled at him and sat down between both of the boys. I twisted to look at Kevin. "Hey you! Why didn't you stop and talk to me today?!"

"Sorry, it's just been a crazy day!" He apologised.

"I know it has! I can't believe chalky got that job! He must be so excited!" I cried.

"He very nearly didn't take it!"

"What?!" I blinked in shock.

Our conversation was interrupted by Connor, who rose to his feet. "Rhiannon just texted, she doesn't know where she's going, I'll be back soon!"

"Alright mate!" Kevin nodded, and I smiled at Connor. He turned around and walked towards the door as I continued to talk.

"Why wasn't he going to take the job?!"

"I didn't want to leave here, and he didn't want to leave me. Luckily the school house had room for me! It took a lot of convincing, but he's letting me stay."

"Oh..." I smiled, "It's bad that you're going to be so far away from each other, but thank god you're still here. I have no idea what i'd do without you, Kev."

He smiled. "You're one of the main reasons I wanted to stay, I couldn't leave my best friend on her own at a time like this!" He said, putting his arm around me.

"You're so sweet, Kev. I'm so thankful to have someone like you as a best friend."

"And I'm thankful to have you too!"

Connor and Rhiannon returned a few minutes later, and Rhiannon and I headed into the toilet. I gasped as soon as I saw Imogen, she looked beautiful.

"Wow.. Connor is going to fall in love with you all over again as soon as he sees you!" I said, smiling.

"Are you sure I look alright?" Imogen asked.

"Of course you do!" Dynasty cried. "I didn't just slave over your hair and make up for that long to leave you looking rough, did I?!"

Imogen giggled. "Thank you Dynasty. You did an amazing job."

"You're welcome, now come on, lets get out there!" Dynasty cried.

"I can't wait to see Connor's face when he sees you!" Rhiannon said, a smile spread across her face.

* * *

We were called in straight away, and the wedding was wonderful. The vows that Connor and Imogen had come up with were so beautiful that I almost started to cry. The pair of them were so perfect for each other.

Once the wedding had finished, Connor and Imogen got a taxi back to Connor's seeings as his Mum had gone on holiday, and the four of us that were left over decided to give them time alone. We stood outside the registry office, waving goodbye to the newly weds, whilst discussing what to do next.

"Well, we've just waved off the newly weds, so how do you feel about us singletons having a night out?" Dynasty asked.

"As in, down the town?" Rhiannon questioned.

"Yes!" Dynasty smiled.

"I'm up for it, but you're the only one that's eighteen, Dynasty." Kevin said.

"I know people! I can get us into almost any bar in town, just as long as we don't attract too much attention to ourselves!" Dynasty informed us.

"I'll have to talk to Clarkson.." I said. "What excuse can I use, because there's no way I can tell him I'm off into town."

"All of you can say that you're coming over to mine for a few hours, can stay if you like too!" Dynasty smirked, she had it all sorted.

"Alright," I nodded. "I'll go home and talk to Clarkson, then I'll drop you a text!"

I could tell already that it was going to be a messy night, and I was buzzing for it.


	13. Chapter 13

**Not long left until the chapter I've been dying to do! Remember to review!**

* * *

I headed home, and thought of an excuse to tell Tom about where I had just been. I suppose that now they were married Miss Mulgrew would have to find out anyway? So I might as well just tell Tom the truth.. But I definitely wouldn't tell him where I was going with Dynasty later on. He wouldn't be impressed at all.

"Lu?" I heard Tom's voice as soon as I stepped through the door.

"Yeah?" I called, sliding my shoes off, then poking my head around the living room door.

"What do you want for dinner?" He asked, standing up and walking towards the door.

"I don't mind, something quick though, I'm going out again."

"What? Again? Where are you going this time? Actually where did you go after school?"

"Jesus Christ, Tom! Do you want to ask anymore questions?" I joked. "Dynasty's invited us all to hers tonight.. And uh, after school I went to a wedding."

"A wedding, in your uniform? Who got married?"

"Um.. Imogen and Connor.." I mumbled. "But you can't tell Miss Mulgrew! You can't tell anyone!"

Tom wrapped his arms around my waist. "Fine. I won't tell her. But you better be careful over at the Barry's tonight! I don't trust that family."

I put my arms around his neck. "Thank you. And don't worry, I'll be fine."

"Just stay away from that Barry, if he tries anything.."

"He won't. I'll deck him if he comes any closer than my personal space bubble!" I smiled and gently kissed Tom.

He smiled into my lips, then pulled back. "Beans on toast for dinner?"

"Sounds good." I answered.

"Alright then." He kissed me once more then headed into the kitchen. I sat down on the arm of the sofa and pulled my phone out of my pocket. I texted Dynasty, telling her it was fine to go out, and could I get ready with her. I returned it to my pocket, then wandered into the kitchen. "What time do you think you'll be back?" Tom asked.

"Probably not until really late, or I might stay at Dynasty's."

"No... Don't stay at theirs! I really don't trust them. Isn't there anywhere else you can stay?"

I thought for a second. "Kevin's? Well, if Chalky doesn't mind.. Or I could just come home."

"What time were you thinking of getting back?"

"No idea... Two?"

"Well you weren't lying when you said late... I'll give you my spare key and you can let yourself in."

"Thank you." I smiled at Tom. "Do you have something to do tonight? I'd feel bad leaving you on your own bored senseless.."

"It's fine, just go out! It'll be like before came to stay, watching the footy and marking books. Oh and I need to call the person I've suggested to Mr Byrne to interview for deputy head."

"Doesn't he have a secretary for that?"

"Yes, but I'm contacting him because its an old friend of mine."

"Oh, I see."

* * *

Tom and I ate our dinner, then had a cuddle on the sofa before I headed upstairs to get my things ready to go out. I still had my hot pants from the party a few weeks ago, and I could match that with my deep purple bra-let, and my outfit was sorted. I also had my black heels left over from the party too. I grabbed them all and stuffed them into a bag, with some money and my straighteners, then skipped downstairs.

"You off?" Tom said, standing at the kitchen door.

"Yeah." I smiled at him.

He threw his house key at me and I caught it. "Please don't lose it, it's the only spare key I have and I really don't want to have to go and get a new one cut."

"Alright, alright, you know sometimes, you sound like my Dad!" I teased.

"I do hope not, your Dad's a prick!"

I smirked. "He is, but I meant it as in you sound fatherly."

He walked towards me. "Well if I was your Dad, I definitely wouldn't be doing this.." He reached out and grabbed my hips, pulling me towards him until our bodies were touching. He pressed his lips to mine and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

Eventually, we separated and I bit down on my bottom lip. "I'm bloody glad you aren't, I'd never be able to live without those lips."

"Hmm.." He kissed me again, then I turned around and put my van's on. "If I'm still up, I'll see you tonight. If not, I'll see you in the morning."

"You will indeed." I turned back around and kissed him once more. "Goodnight."

"Night love."

* * *

I arrived at the Barry's house just under half an hour later. Dynasty opened the door and I shuffled in quickly, trying to get warm.

"It's bloody cold out there!" I cried.

"Well I don't care if its freezing cold, or boiling hot, I'm still wearing my mini dress!" Dynasty said, shutting the door behind me. "Come into the kitchen, we just opened a bottle of vodka to get us started before we head out!"

"Ooh!" I followed her into the kitchen, to see Kevin, Barry and Rhiannon sat at the table. "Where's Kasey?"

"Watching a film in the living room. I told her she weren't allowed to join us big kids." Barry said, smirking.

"So I guess you'll be joining us then?" I muttered.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." He said.

"Great." I shot him a snarky smile, then looked at Kevin. He looked a bit uncomfortable sat next to Barry, after all, he had forced him to do tasks for him in the past... I think he was intimidated by him.

"Drink Luce? Straight, with coke, redbull, orange?" Dynasty asked.

"Oh, with redbull please!" I smiled and watched as she poured it out.

"So, who's excited to go and get bladdered?!" Rhiannon asked.

"I bloody am! Had a far too stressful few weeks!" I answered. Dynasty passed me my drink and I thanked her and took a sip.

"Yeah but drinking away your problems isn't going to be the best option, Luce." Kevin said. Trust him to be Mr Sensible! I walked around the table and stood behind his chair. I wrapped my arms around his neck from behind and perched my head on his shoulder.

"It might not be, but it'll make me happy for a little while!" I told him.

He didn't say anything, and Dynasty started a new conversation. After the other three were fully involved in the conversation, Kevin turned his head to whisper; "Are you sure you should be drinking on your pills?"

"I shouldn't be, but I'll be fine. Just ask Josh." I stood up and patted Kevin's shoulder before wandering back around the table and taking a swig of my drink.

* * *

I was already a little tipsy as we left Dynasty's after drinking and taking hours to get ready. We arrived at the local nightclub and Kevin kept close to me, obviously feeling uncomfortable. It wasn't like him at all to be in a nightclub, he'd normally be spending the night playing games on his laptop with Chalky... But it was nice to have him here. All he needed was a couple of cocktails and jaeger bombs, and he'd loosen up a bit... Or be on the floor, but either way I was going to make sure he has a good night!

The first thing we did when we got in was head straight to the bar. Dynasty ordered a round of shots, and we downed them, before ordering a few cocktails.

I was half way through my first cocktail when the Harlem shake started to play. "Let's go and dance!" I said into Dynasty's ear. She grabbed my hand, then grabbed Rhiannon's and started to drag us up to the dance floor. I knew I couldn't leave Kevin with Barry, so I grabbed the back of his shirt and dragged him with us. We wormed our way into the middle and started to dance mentally, as you would do to the Harlem shake.

A few songs passed, and then I pulled Kevin down the bar with me. I ordered another cocktail and a pint for Kev, then sat on a stall, my best friend beside me.

Because the music was so loud, I had to put my mouth right to Kevin's ear for him to hear me. "Are you having fun?"

"It's okay."

"You'll feel more comfortable after a few drinks!" I told him. "Come on, I bet you can't down that quicker than I can down mine!"

"Yours has a lot less capacity than mine!"

"Fine, you get a five second head start! Ready, go!" I watched him as he picked up the pint and started to down it, I counted to five then downed my cocktail. Unfortunately for Kevin, my glass hit the bar again before his did. "You'll have to get some practise!"

Kevin chuckled. "I don't plan on making downing competitions with you a regular thing, so I don't think I do!"

I smiled and shook my head. "Spoilt sport!"

I ordered another drink, then Kevin and I joined the others on the dance floor again. We all danced for what felt like forever, then I felt my phone start to buzz. I pulled it out of my bra and rolled my eyes. It was Dad. I excused myself and headed out into the smoking area to answer it.

"What?" I snapped.

"Don't get snappy with me, Lucy. I was calling to tell you that your bedroom here at Nan's is disgusting. How could you let it get so dirty?!" Dad's voice just made me angry.

"Oh fuck off." I spat, and hung up on him. I'd never known anyone to be so annoying in my life. He just wanted to ruin my night and remind me that he was still in town. Well it wasn't going to work.

I headed back up to the bar and got myself another drink, and downed it in a stress. I would not let Dad get to me, I would not.

"What's wrong with you?" The voice came from behind me, and I turned my head to look at the person stood there. Barry.

I sighed and reluctantly told him: "My Dad's being a prick!"

A smirk spread across his face. "Well lets go and get him back then!"

I raised an eyebrow, confused. "What?"

"Come on, lets go and be pricks to him!" Barry said, grabbing my hand and pulling me up.

* * *

Half an hour later, I found myself stumbling up the road to my Nan's house with Barry Barry, carrying a carton of eggs. We'd decided to egg his car, be pricks back to him.

"This is it!" I paused and leaned against the fence, nodding in the direction of the car.

"Lets get started then." He evilly grinned, and opened the carton that he had in his arms. I did the same and lifted an egg out of the carton. I pulled my arm back and lobbed the egg at the car, squealing when it smashed on the window and went everywhere. The car alarm started to go off as Barry and I launched two whole packs of eggs at it, and I burst out laughing.

Suddenly, the front door burst open and I heard my Dad's angry voice. "Oi!"

I squealed and shouted to Barry: "Run!" We both started to run down the road, away from the house... But then I heard the footsteps behind me and felt a hand forcefully grab my shoulder.

"Come here, Lucy! You little bitch!" My Dad snapped. I paused and turned to face him.

"Do you like your car's new design? You can attract all the birds with that." I muttered sarcastically, trying to make him angrier.

"You wait." He forcefully grabbed my arm and dragged me back up to the house.

"Get off me, you bastard!" I shouted. "Fucking let go!"

He dragged me into the house and slammed the door shut behind him. He shoved me down onto the sofa, and I burst out laughing. "You really are a tit! You know that right?!"

His face was purple with anger. "Where are you living? I'm calling them to pick you up."

I laughed. "I already told you, the local whore house. You can take me there yourself."

"Don't piss about, Lucy. Give me their number, now." He spat into my face.

"Alright, alright. Say it don't spray it!" I mumbled and unlocked my phone, trying my hardest not to laugh. I got up Tom's number and handed my phone to Dad. He pressed call, then held the phone up to his ear.

It was then that I realised I could be in a lot of trouble. Tom definitely wouldn't be impressed that he was having to pick me up after vandalising my Dad's car, but at the same time I think he'd be thrilled that I got my own back on the horrible prick. I suppose I just had to wait for him to get here...


	14. Chapter 14

**As I always say, REVIEW please!**

* * *

Dad and Tom had a very short conversation, mostly consisting of Dad yelling at Tom, ordering him to come here and sort me out. It was amazing how disrespectful my father could be to someone he has never even met before. It was a joke, pathetic.

I watched as Dad threw my phone down onto the sofa next to me.

"Hey! Be careful with that!" I shouted, reaching my arm out to grab it. "It was expensive, you know!"

He rolled his eyes. "My Mother's money I suppose?!"

"Well obviously. When I first got here she treated me like a princess.. Until she deteriorated."

"Well she's dead now, no more princess Lucy, because no one wants you." He spat through his teeth.

"Really? Because if no one wanted me, then i'd not have somewhere to live right now.."

He scoffed. "Who is this Tom, anyway."

"Someone who's a lot more respectful than you." I muttered.

"Sounded like a twat on the phone, to be honest. Anyway, what's someone from Manchester doing living in Greenock?"

"He's far from a twat, the only twat I know is you. He moved up here because of work."

"What does he do then? Run the local whore house?"

I rolled my eyes. "If you must know, he's an English teacher. I don't see why you're so fussed about finding out things about Tom, you've never cared who I was staying with before."

"I don't care, just want to know if you're treating this Tom like a mug and if I need to warn him or not." Dad said slyly.

"Treating him like a mug? I'm not you, mate, I don't do that sort of thing." I laughed.

"I'll decide that for myself once you tell me more about him."

"Well too bad, because I'm not telling you another thing." I stood up and headed towards the stairs, deciding I should probably get changed before Tom got here.

Dad followed me. "Do not wind me up anymore, Lucy, or heavens forbid, I will hit you."

I got half way up the stairs and paused, looking back at him. "You'll hit me? Is that a threat? Child abuse... Maybe I should tell the police."

"Maybe I should tell the police you vandalised my car!"

I scoffed, knowing he wouldn't really, not if it meant that I would tell them that he'd threatened to beat me. "Go for it." I smirked at him, then walked up to my room. There was a knock on the door just as got to my bedroom door.

Dad answered it and then I heard Tom's voice. "Where is she?" He sounded a little fed up, but worried at the same time. I grabbed a cardigan from my wardrobe and wrapped it around me before heading to the top of the stairs.

"Upstairs." Dad told him. Tom looked up at me, and it was clear on his face that he was glad that I'm okay.

I slowly started to make my way down the stairs.

"Have you seen what the stupid little bitch has done to my car?"

"Don't talk about her like that. She's your daughter, not your enemy. And that'll easily wash off your car." Tom said bluntly.

Dad laughed. "Don't talk like you know everything about Lucy and I. She's hardly a daughter!"

"Well in that case, you're a terrible Dad for letting it get this way." Tom snapped.

Suddenly I lost my footing, and slipped down the last five steps, straight into Tom's arms. My heart was pounding and I realised that I should have concentrated on the stairs more than their conversation.

"You're drunk." Tom said, obviously smelling the alcohol on my breath. "Impaired coordination, Lucy, you know you shouldn't drink on your pills."

I bit down on my bottom lip. "Sorry..."

"Pills?" Dad's voice popped up again.

"Yeah, depression." Tom told him, whilst helping me get my balance back. "Probably caused by all the crap you've given her."

Dad laughed. "Good. The horrible little cow deserves to suffer." Dad spat. Tom let go of me, and the next thing I knew, Dad was cowering back, holding his nose. My mouth dropped open, Tom had punched him.

"Sorry you had to see that Lu." Tom said, putting an arm around my waist, guiding me to the door.

"Not a problem, do it again if you'd like." I said, a smile spread on my face. Tom opened the door and helped me out.

Dad stood behind us. "You wait until the police find out about this, this is assault!"

"I think the police would also love to hear about how you threatened to abuse your daughter!" I shouted back to him.

Dad was silent, clearly speechless.

Tom opened the car door and helped me in.

"Funeral is next Wednesday. Midday. At Saint Paul's!" Dad shouted before slamming the front door shut.

I'd forgotten about the funeral right up until then. I couldn't believe that he was the one sorting it all out, and not me? He couldn't have given a care about Nan until he found out she was dead. He wanted her money and the house, I knew that was all he wanted.

I was torn from my thoughts by Tom climbing into the drivers seat and shutting the door. I looked at him and it was hard to tell what kind of mood he was in. He started the car and reversed away from the house before talking. "What on earth gave you the idea to egg his car?"

"Um... Barry.." I mumbled.

"I thought I told you to stay away from Barry? He's no good, as you've just seen."

"I know, I'm sorry, but we were in the club and Dad rang and he irritated me, so Barry suggested that we get him back!"

"Since when do you listen to Bar... Wait you were in a club?" Tom frowned and looked at me.

I bit down on my bottom lip. "Yeah... It was just a bit of fun, Tom.. And Kevin kept an eye on me!"

"Did he? Then how come he didn't try to stop you when you went swanning off with bloody Barry Barry?!"

"I.. I don't know."

"Look, Lu. I can't believe that you wouldn't just tell me where you were going... I'm not supposed to be like a parent, you shouldn't feel like you have to lie to me.. I know that the way we are is confusing, I definitely know that.. But I also know that you can tell me everything and anything. I probably will try and talk you out of doing things, but I know that you'll probably do it anyway. At least if you tell me these things, I'll know what I can expect, and I can know that I trust what you're doing." Tom said, calmly.

I felt a little guilty now, perhaps I should have told him in the first place. "I'm so sorry, Tom."

"No. It's my fault for letting us get into this ridiculous situation." He said, the car pulling up outside the house.

"No. No, it is not ridiculous." I said, unplugging my seatbelt, twisting to look at him.

Tom switched the engine off, then looked back at me. "But it is. Lucy, I'm your teacher. I shouldn't be doing this."

"Tom.." I placed my hands on his cheeks. "You are so much more than that. You don't just teach me English, you've taught me that people can be kind, that not everyone I come across will just treat me like shit. You've taught me that people will care for me, I don't always have to depend on just myself. And you taught me how to.." I trailed off and took a deep breath before continuing. "To love."

Tom placed his hands on top of mine and stroked them with his thumbs. He didn't say anything for a little while, just stared into my eyes. After a minute or two, he sighed and did a little smile. "God Lu, I love you."

I smiled at him, my heart fluttering. "I love you too."


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay, so I haven't had many reviews recently... And I know I keep going on, but the reviews are important to me! I love reading what you think, and your suggestions.. So don't stop reviewing!**

* * *

Next Wednesday came around quicker than I'd like it to have. I'd had barely any sleep the night before, just never being able to drift off. I spent most of the night lying with Tom, watching him sleep, so quiet and cute. At one point I woke him up by fidgeting too much, frustrated that I couldn't sleep. Of course, he didn't complain and laid with me, gently playing with a strand of my hair, until we both drifted off again, however, I woke up less than an hour later.. spending the rest of the night just lying awake.

Tom woke me up at ten with a cuppa in his hand, a soft smile on his face. "Good morning." He said.

I groaned and rolled over to look at him. "Wouldn't say it was good."

Tom placed the cup on the bedside table, and gently pushed my hair out of my face. "Today will be fine."

"It would be better if it never had to happen at all." I grumbled, looking up at him.

"If I had a time machine I'd give it to you, but I don't." He said and leant down to kiss my forehead.

"I know you would." I sighed.

"You have an hour and a half before we have to leave."

"Alright."

"Oh, and my friend's coming over at half five... I thought I'd let you know now and not spring it on you later." He said.

"Okay. Well we won't be going to the wake later on, so I'll have plenty time to cheer up before they get here." I said, trying to make a joke.

"Alright. You're going to have to make sure that we keep the pretence up, the friend is the one that's going to be the new deputy head. Mr Byrne interviewed him on Monday, and he rang him this morning to tell him that he's got the job."

"That's good. I'll be sure to congratulate him."

* * *

The funeral was one of the worst things that I'd had to sit through in my life. It wasn't just that I was saying goodbye to my Nan.. It infuriated me that Dad stood up at the front and pretended that he was so distraught whilst he made the long speech about how much he'd miss her. I'd spent the whole time clenching my teeth and gripping onto the chair, wishing it was his head that I was digging my nails into.

The ceremony ended, and we all walked out whilst my Nan's favourite song played. The sound of the song Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers filled my ears and I sighed. This had been her favourite song for years, decades. It was shocking that Dad had even remembered.

Tom stood against the wall, next to the door and waited whilst family friends, and family members I hadn't seen in a long time approached me and had a small chat with me. I heard a lot of 'I'm sorry for your loss' and 'Your Nan was an amazing woman.' 's and I just wanted to go home. I was fed up of hearing what people said, because I knew none of it could make a difference to how I felt. I was finally about to give up and get Tom to take me home, when I saw Nan's best friend, Faith, slowly walk out of the church with her frame as support. I walked over to her and saw the blotches on her face and watery eyes from where she'd been crying throughout the ceremony.

She looked up at me. "Oh Lucy!" She cried, and tried to give me a faint smile. She stopped walking and paused in front of me. I placed my hands on her walking frame, and she put her hands on top of mine. "You remind me of her so much.."

A lump rose in my throat, and a smile formed on my face. "Thank you, Faith."

"You should be proud that she was your Nan... Ol' Vic was an amazing woman!"

"She was, I'm very proud."

"Too bad your Father didn't follow in her footsteps... Only one good thing came from that man!"

"What was that?" I asked.

"His kids!" Faith said.

I smiled again. "Thank you."

"Speaking of that horrible man, I'm sure you can't be staying with him! Are you?" Faith asked. When I'd first arrived Faith and I had spent a while talking about Dad and how he'd abandoned me as a child, and she knew everything. It was clear from the moment I told her about him, that she'd hated his guts. She's called him a waste of space, and she was spot on.

"No, when Nan went into hospital my teacher Tom offered to help me out." I told her, nodding in the direction of Tom.

She turned her head to look at him, then looked back at me. "Well, what a lovely young man he is! Very courageous to want to put up with a Sigler though!" She joked.

I smiled, almost a laugh. "Ah, well, I guess I'm lucky that someone wanted to help me out."

Faith patted my hand. "Give it a couple more years, when he isn't teaching you and you never know.. Husband material!"

I laughed this time. "Faith!"

"Well he's kind, and a looker!"

I laughed again. "Okay." I shook my head, still smiling. Faith would end up feeling like a psychic in a few years time.

"Anyway, I'd better let you go! Give me a call after you've seen the will." She told me. "I think you'd like to thank me."

"What?" I raised an eyebrow.

"You'll see, kiddo!" She smiled at me.

I gently kissed her cheek. "I'll call you soon, Faith. See you."

"Bye my love!"

I stepped out of the way and she slowly walked away with her frame. I watched her go then walked over to Tom. "I think Faith likes you."

He raised an eyebrow. "That woman?"

"Yeah, she was my Nan's best friend. She said that you're a looker, and very courageous to want to put up with a Sigler!"

Tom chuckled. "Bless her. You're not that bad, your Dad's the only Sigler that seems like a pain in the backside!"

"Trust me when you've met all of my family like Faith has, you'll never want to see them again." I teased.

"God, what am I getting myself in for with you?!" He teased back, and pushed off the wall. "Come on, lets go home."

* * *

I spent the next three hours curled up in bed, catching up on my sleep. Tom said he was going to clean up whilst I was sleeping and finish off the things he needed to mark. I got up at five, and scooped my wavy hair up into a high ponytail, and put a bit more mascara on. I didn't want to look like Tom had taken in some minger off the streets, especially not if the man I was about to meet was going to be the new deputy head. I switched my pyjama shorts for some leggings and put my black shirt that I was wearing this morning back on.

I headed downstairs and got myself a glass of water, before going into the living room where Tom was marking some books. He looked up at me.

"Don't worry, I won't bother you! Carry on marking!" I said, smiling.

"You've perked up a bit since this morning.." He put his pen down and smiled back at me.

I think it must have been what Faith had said to me this morning. She didn't know about me and Tom, but already she agreed with it, and it just made me feel good. "More sleep I guess!" I shrugged.

"Well I like happy Lucy!" He stood up and kissed me, then returned to the books. "What's the time?"

I pressed the button on my phone and looked. "Quarter past five."

"Right, I have fifteen minutes."

"How much do you have left?"

"Quite a bit, it'll take me at least half an hour."

"Oh.." I sat down on the smaller sofa and put the television on, flicking through the channels to waste fifteen minutes.

The door knocked at twenty-five to, and Tom put his pen down and went to answer it. I continued to watch the TV, barely noticing that he'd left the room. The door shut the two were talking for a few minutes before coming into the living room.

"Sorry, I was just doing some marking." Tom said, obviously noting that his friend had looked at the table full of books. "This is Lucy."

I looked up at the two of them, and my mouth dropped open a little, before I quickly covered it with a smile. The guest did the same. It couldn't be, not him...

"Lucy, this is Chris, Chris Mead." Tom said.


	16. Chapter 16

**Don't forget to review;)**

* * *

"Nice to meet you." I said, trying to keep my voice steady. It was lie. It wasn't the first time I'd met him, and it definitely wasn't nice to meet him again.

"You too." He said, not taking his eyes away from me for a second.

Tom continued to talk to him, and Chris eventually dragged his eyes away from me to keep up the conversation with him. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep myself together for much longer, so I excused myself and headed upstairs. I went into Josh's room and sat down on the bed. My heart hadn't stopped pounding since I saw Chris, and I even felt like I was about to hyperventilate at any second.

_No. Stop. _I told myself. _It doesn't matter, that was all ages ago. _But it would matter. I'd have to see him everyday. He'd be my deputy head. _Shut up, you see Tom everyday. _But that was different. Very different. _Kind of..._

I sighed and put my head in my hands. Why was I arguing with myself, silently in my head? If I told anyone they'd think I was crazy! Completely nuts! I let out a quiet laugh and realised how stupid I sounded. And then I realised I was also laughing at myself. I stood up and walked over to the mirror, looking at my reflection. I certainly didn't look crazy, I just looked shocked. I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head, as if I was trying to shake away the expression on my face.

Not only would I be keeping up one pretence tonight, I'd be keeping up two. No wonder why I was going crazy.

* * *

I returned downstairs about ten minutes later, getting myself a drink, before even thinking about heading back into the living room. As I reached for the tap, I realised that water definitely wasn't strong enough for this particular moment. I walked over to the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of something that I couldn't even pronounce. I poured it into my glass, then put the bottle back and leant against the counter. If this didn't give me some bloody Dutch courage, then I had no idea what would.

I took a few mouthful's before downing the last of what was in the glass, then took a deep breath. I slowly walked back towards the living room. Chris and Tom looked up at me as I got to the door.

"Alright, Lu? Where'd you disappear to?" Tom asked.

"Had a phone call, Imogen was filling me in on her past week with Connor." I told him.

"I didn't hear it ringing?" Tom said curiously.

"It was on silent." I shrugged and sat down on the small sofa, away from the two men. I unlocked my phone and scrolled through Facebook, not really paying attention to all the muppet's who were constantly updating their status' complaining about something or other.

After a few minutes, I butted into Tom and Chris' conversation, a way of getting to talk to Chris without Tom being there had just popped into my head. "Sorry to interrupt, but uh, I'm hungry. Who wants chippy?"

"Sounds good!" Tom said, smiling at me. "Chris?"

"Why not." He answered.

"You know where the money is, Lu." Tom smiled.

"Yeah." I stood up and walked towards the door. Tom turned away from me and continued to talk to Chris, however Chris was looking up at me. I widened my eyes at Chris, as if to tell him to come with me, and he stopped Tom.

"Actually, you know what... I could go with Lucy? She can show me where the chip shop is, seeings as I'm going to be living here, I'm going to need to know where it is!" Chris said.

"Oh, well we'll all go then!" Tom said.

"Don't be silly!" I said to Tom. "If Chris and I walk down there, then you can finish the marking, put it away and get everything ready for dinner. That way you'll have all night to catch up with Chris."

Tom nodded. "Good idea, Lu."

I smiled at him, and he winked at me. I headed into the kitchen and got twenty quid from his wallet, then put my shoes on. Chris made his way out into the hallway and put his shoes on, then looked at me.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"I'll see you both in a bit!" Tom said, standing at the living room door.

"You will!" I smiled at him, then opened the door, letting Chris out first. I turned to Tom. "Haddock?"

"You know it." He smiled and I stepped out of the door, he pushed it shut behind me. I took a deep breath, then turned and walked down the drive, heading towards the chippy.

It was silent for a few minutes as Chris walked along beside me, then he spoke. "Well, I definitely wasn't expecting to see you again."

"I can say the same."

"I didn't think for a second that I'd move to another country and you'd have moved too." Chris said.

"Now you know where I disappeared to." I told him.

"You lied to me about your age then? You can't be twenty one if you're still a student at Waterloo Road."

"Seventeen. Happy now you know the truth?" I sighed. It was quiet for a little while.

"So you make a habit of this do you? Older men."

I stopped dead in my tracks and looked at him. "You think I'm banging Tom?"

He stopped a few steps in front of me and looked into my eyes. "Well I have all reason to believe it."

I scoffed and continued walking. There was no way on earth I could let him know about Tom and I. "You make me sound like some sort of get around."

"So you're saying that you don't sleep with strangers?"

"Once, it was once."

"Me? Technically it was more than once."

"One night then! I was hoping I'd never see you again."

"Oh that's nice, Lucy. It's a shame really because up until about forty minutes ago I had no problem with seeing you again!"

"Well at least I know there's no complaints when it comes to the bedroom!" I mumbled. "Must've been pretty good since it was my first."

I heard Chris let out a sigh. "I was your first?"

"Yeah." I shrugged. I had no idea how I was staying so calm when all that was filling my head was how horrible it would be if Tom found out.

"Wow... I.." Chris seemed stuck for words.

"Look, I don't care about anything that is left to say about that night. All I know is that Tom cannot find out, and neither can anyone else." I told him.

"Well I'm glad we share the same view." Chris sighed. "Why does this always happen to me?!" He mumbled.

"Wait, this isn't the first time?"

"No. There was a girl called Jess Fisher. Her Mum was head teacher, I had to come clean in the end... It was too big of a secret."

"Well you can't come clean on this one! Chris, you have no idea how much this would kill me for anyone to find out!"

He sighed. "Fine."


	17. Chapter 17

**Reviews please;) Oh and I have serious writer's block right now, I can't even begin to explain how annoying it is! I know where I want to go with this story, but no idea how to get there, ugh.**

* * *

"Swear on my life that you won't tell anyone."

"I swear on your life." He said.

I walked along quietly for a moment. I definitely didn't expect for this to ever happen. Tom would be so irritated if he found out... I think he'd have assumed that the first person I'd been with was a teenage boy.. Not one of his friends. I couldn't let this stupid situation get between Tom and I... He was the only person I had left. I needed him.

"What are you thinking about?" Chris questioned.

"Not you."

"I didn't think you would've been." He sighed. "You don't trust me do you?"

"No, not really. After all you did accuse me of having it away with my English teacher!" I answered. Of course, he'd been right, but he couldn't know. I'd sworn to Tom that no one would find out.

"Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have accused you of that." He said as we approached the chip shop. "But I don't think you realise that I don't want to tell anyone just as much as you don't want me to! It's more of my career on the line than anything else. You'd be brushed lightly in the mayhem of it all!"

"Hardly. People are very judgemental, Chris.. Or have you forgotten that?"

He sighed. "I know they are, but it'll die down. I've seen situations like this before."

"Well then you know that it's best to not tell at all!"

"Exactly. So no one will ever find out." He said.

* * *

Finally convinced that Chris was going to keep his mouth shut, we got the chippy and headed home. We arrived back and Tom opened the door, smiling at us.

"Nice walk?" he asked.

"Bloody freezing!" I cried. He chuckled, took the bag from me and headed into the kitchen.

I took my shoes off, then followed him, Chris behind me. I was still a bit tense about having Chris around, but I knew that he'd keep his mouth shut. That would hopefully make things easier. As much as I wanted to hate him, I knew I couldn't because this was really all my fault... If I hadn't of been in that nightclub, I wouldn't have met him, wouldn't have ended up at his.. Wouldn't have been stuck in this situation months later. As well as that I knew that I couldn't hate him because he'd be around more often, and he was going to be the new deputy head.

"Lucy?" Tom's voice teared me out of my thoughts. "You alright? Seem like you're away with the fairies?"

"Sorry, I was in a world of my own!" I mumbled. "I think I'll go up to bed after I've eaten, I'm still really tired."

Tom gently patted my shoulder. "I don't blame you, you've had a long day!"

I nodded. "I don't think that's even the correct way to describe it." I grumbled and picked up my plate. I took it into the living room and sat down on the small sofa. I couldn't face sitting in the same room as both of them for much longer, I didn't want to keep up either pretences, I just wanted to go back to sleep.

The two of them came in and sat on the other sofa, tucking into their food. I'd gone off mine a little, not in the mood for eating at all.

"Lu, do you mind if we stick the footy on? Man city's playing!" Tom asked.

"Go for it, I'm not going to be down here for much longer anyway."

Tom smiled at me and turned the TV over, then started to talk football with Chris. I ate a few chips, then gave up and took it out into the kitchen. As I passed the living room, I stuck my head around the door and mumbled a quick 'goodnight', before heading up the stairs into Josh's room.

* * *

I tossed and turned for most of the night, again. When I eventually fell asleep, my dreams were weird. Well, not weird... but it was like I was reliving a moment again, and again.. And the worst part was that I didn't want to relive it. It was the one thing I didn't want to remember.

_I was in the club with Holly, both of us dancing in the middle of the floor. We'd been like it for ages, giving me a night to remember before I moved to Scotland. Mum hadn't wanted me to go out, but I'd climbed out of the window.. Panicking that she'd realise and come after me, but Holly calmed me down and convinced me it didn't matter. _

_"Who cares, Lucy! You're moving tomorrow, it's not like she can punish you!" She'd said. _

_We'd used fake ID's to get in, I was a twenty-one year old woman called Lucy Hathaway. We didn't want to use our real last names on the ID's... It was fun to have a little alter ego. Of course, we were just going to be ourselves tonight though, it was my goodbye, and we were going to make sure it was a fun one. _

_We'd had a few shots before we'd gone onto the dance floor. They'd merely affected me, Holly however was one of the biggest light weight's I'd ever met.. _

_It was whilst we were dancing that I'd felt someone looking at me, of course I looked around, feeling a little anxious.. But I couldn't tell who it was and Holly grabbed my attention again with a slut drop that had me in fits of laughter. __After a few songs, we decided to give our feet a rest and headed back to the bar. We both perched on a stool and ordered a cocktail each. Holly practically downed of hers, then dared me to do the same. _

_"Bet you can't down it quicker than me!" She'd said. _

_Of course I'd rolled my eyes and laughed. "Don't be silly, last time I checked, I was the only one that managed to finish a pint in less than six seconds!"_

_Holly'd laughed and got herself another drink, preparing for our little contest. "Ready, go!"_

_We'd downed them as quick as possible, and just as expected, I'd won. _

_"I'll get you next time, Sigler!" Holly'd laughed and nudged me. I put my glass down and wiped my mouth, then looked up at all of the different cocktails on display. "Oh, hello! Fitty over there!" _

_I twisted my head to look at where she was nodding. "He's alright.. You can do better." I mumbled, looking at the fairly young blonde lad that was stood ordering a drink at the end of the bar._

_"Well right now, I don't want better. I want him!" She'd cried._

_"Get in there then!" I told her and watched as she danced her way over to him. I knew she'd use her usual line 'Your round isn't it babe?' and laughed when I saw the words escape her lips. I smiled and watched the lad buy her the drink and then they got chatting. _

_Suddenly, a voice came out of no where. "Excuse me." I almost jumped out of my skin and snapped my head round to look at who it was. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."_

_The person stood to my right was an attractive male. He looked no older than twenty-eight, and had dark hair. As the lights changed and flickered on and off, I noticed that he had very light eyes that were quite enticing. _

_"It's fine, just wasn't expecting anyone to talk to me." I told him._

_"Well now that must be a lie, gorgeous girl like you and you don't expect people to talk to you?" He flashed me a cheeky grin._

_I tried -and failed- to keep a smile from spreading across my face. "Can I help you?" I questioned._

_"I was wondering if I could buy you a drink?" He asked._

_I looked over my shoulder at Holly, who now had her tongue down the blonde lad's throat. I turned back to the attractive man who was now sat on the stool where Holly was once perched and shrugged. "Why not!"_

_"Same again?" He asked, looking at my empty glass._

_"Please." I smiled at him. _

_He ordered the drinks, then slid mine over to me. "I'm Chris."_

_"Lucy."_

_"Nice to meet you, Lucy." He smiled._

_"You too, Chris." I smiled back at him and took a sip of my drink. I noticed, that as I did so, he watched. "What are you looking at?" I questioned. _

_"Oh nothing, just one of the most attractive woman I have seen in a long time." He shrugged. _

_I narrowed my eyes. "If you think you're going to get laid, you can think again."_

_He chuckled. "So I can't compliment you without you assuming that I'm trying bed you?"_

_"Well, that is the usual reason that someone compliments you in a nightclub." _

_"Well, I'm not one of those someone's."_

_I'd been wrong. Four hours later I found myself lying next to him, in his bed. I'd shocked myself to be honest, I'd never done anything like that whilst I was out before... but that was probably because all the other times I wasn't about to move to another country._

_I'd felt so anxious that someone I'd just met was seeing my body, feeling it, yet at the same time I didn't care... It was a whole new experience and I could tell why Holly always spoke about it._

_It happened a few more times before we finally fell asleep, and I awoke a few hours later to quickly get dressed and rush out. I'd wanted to leave a note or something, but decided against it, knowing that I'd probably never see him again anyway..._

__And then I'd wake up, wishing it'd never happened and that I hadn't been such a bloody idiot that night.


	18. Chapter 18

**Don't forget to review my lovelies! Let me know opinions!**

**Oh and Tom's death tonight :'( I have honestly never EVER cried so much in my life. Like I now hate waterloo road and shed productions and bbc, and JASON Y U HAVE TO LEAVE. I'm practically heart broken. I do think that Tom's exit was definitely not worthy enough.. It was pretty damn shit and they should have made it a more important event? Not like oh I know he'll fall off a roof and die, then we'll make a speech about it and all done and forgotten. NO, THAT'S WANK. **

**Okay, rant over. I apologise if you disagree with me.. You suck.**

**One last thing... This chapter is REALLY short because I have terrible writers block but I wanted to do an update... I'm sorry!**

* * *

The next week and a bit passed quickly. Tom and I went down to the beach a few days, stayed in others, and met up with our own friends on all the other days.

I'd had a phone call about my Nan's will and Faith was correct, I did want to thank her. Nan had left the house and some extra money to me, of course Dad had been given a lot of the money, but the amount I had would help me pay the bills for a while. I'd rang Faith straight away and she told me all about how she'd convinced Nan to leave me the house when her breathing problems became worse. Faith was like a second Nan to me, she was amazing. I couldn't ever thank her enough!

* * *

By the time Monday came around, I was actually quite glad to be going back to school. It wasn't that I'd had a boring holiday, it had been perfect, just me and Tom for most of it, but I only had one term left and just wanted to get it over and done with.

Tom and I pulled into the carpark at half past eight, and said our goodbyes for the day, then headed off in seperate directions, as usual. As always, it wasn't long until I bumped into Kevin and the newly weds.

"Luce!" Imogen called. I smiled at the three of them.

"Good holiday?" I asked.

"Fantastic!" Imogen looked up at Connor and smiled.

"Honey moon period eh?" I teased. "Please, spare me the details!"

Imogen and Connor laughed.

"I hear you disappeared with Barry Barry on the night of the wedding?" Connor asked.

I glanced at Kevin, he was still pretty annoyed that I'd left him alone in a night club with Dynasty and Rhiannon. "We went and egged my Dad's car!"

Imogen gasped. "You didn't! Did you get caught?"

I nodded. "Dad grabbed me, Barry got away the lucky bugger! Dad went mental, threatened to hit me, horrible bastard!"

"God, your Dad sounds like a right nutter!" Connor mumbled.

"He is a complete nutter! Luckily Clarkson came and got me, punched Dad square in the face."

"What? Mr Clarkson punched him?" Imogen looked shocked.

I laughed. "Yeah, he apologised to me after, but I told him he could do again if he liked."

They all laughed.

"Jesus, you have such an eventful life!" Connor said.

I shrugged then turned to Kevin. "You can't still be mad at me for leaving you?"

"It was pretty annoying..." He grumbled.

"Yes, but how many times to I have to say I'm sorry?" I said

He shrugged and put his arm around me. "I'm over it."

"Make your mind up!" I teased and smiled at him.

We all started to walk towards the door when I heard the clicking of high heels as if someone was running up behind us. I twisted my head to see Dynasty.

"Oh my god, have you guys seen that new deputy head? He's gorgeous!" She cried.

I sighed. I should have known that this was coming.

"No, what does he look like?" Imogen looked around the playground.

"Oh you have to see him, Imogen! I know where I'm going to be spending a lot of time!" Dynasty smirked.

"Where?" Kevin asked, confused.

I rolled my eyes. "In his office."

Connor chuckled. "Keep up Kev."

"Lucy have you seen him?" Dynasty looked at me.

"Yeah, he came over a few weeks ago." I mumbled.

"What to Clarkson's? God you're so lucky!" Dynasty squealed.

"Hm, lucky.." I grumbled and continued to walk into the building. Everyone walked alongside me.

"Do you dislike him?" Imogen questioned. "You certainly don't give the impression that you do."

I pursed my lips, thinking of what to reply. "Well, it's just.." I started to speak until Dynasty squealed yet again.

"Look Imogen!"

Imogen and I looked up and Chris was walking directly towards us. He pulled the door open and smiled.

"Morning everyone.. Lucy." He nodded at me.

I shot him a small smile and continued to walk, Kevin's arm still around my neck.

"He said hi to you?" Kevin said.

"I know." I grumbled bluntly. Chris passed us and I looked over at Dynasty. Unsurprisingly, she was peering over her shoulder at Mead.

"He has such a nice bum..." She said.

I almost wanted to hit her. "Dynasty, he'd still in ear shot!"

"I think he heard that." Connor said.

"I don't care, at least he knows my opinion of him!" Dynasty said, a grin on her face.


End file.
